Alicia Spinnet and the Dragon Keeper
by written-up-in-marker
Summary: An account of Alicia Spinnet's whirlwind years at Hogwarts School. Spells, trouble, friendship and the trials and tribulations of growing up and falling in love. Rated T just in case
1. The First Year and the Seeker

**A/N. **Hello there :) So I guess the first thing I should do is thank you for finding my story! I hope that if you read on, you enjoy it! Please do leave me a review if you can :)

NOTE. In this story, Charlie is a third year (two years older than Fred, George and Alicia). Percy is a second year and Bill a fifth year.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1: The First Year and the Seeker**

* * *

"Good Godric; he's cute," gushed one girl to her friend.

"Cute? He's gorgeous!" another whispered loudly.

Charlie Weasley grinned to himself as he hitched his bag higher onto his shoulder and shifted the enormous pile of books in his arms.

He smiled at the group of second year girls as he passed. They giggled loudly and whispered harder than ever.

"Will it ever stop?" his friend Sam complained. "It's everywhere you go."

"Sorry, can't help being so unbelievably popular..." Charlie teased. "That's what you get for being Gryffindor Seeker. Trust me, it's awful."

"Is it?" Sam asked sceptically.

"No…of course not!" Charlie chuckled. "It's bloody awesome!"

"Alright, alright. No need to get so big-headed." Sam laughed and shoved his friend.

"Come on, let's get to Potions. That oversized bat will need no excuse to put me in detention for the rest of the term."

* * *

"Come on, Alicia. It can't be that bad…please come out," begged Angelina.

"Angelina Johnson, I look absolutely hideous and I am going to stay in this bathroom for the rest of my life until I shrivel up and die and end up like Moaning Myrtle."

Angelina giggled. "You're already a bit like her; the 'moaning' part anyway. And you are _such_ a drama queen!"

There was a disgruntled noise from the toilet cubicle.

"Come on, we're going to be late for Herbology. And you know I have no map reading skills whatsoever so it'll take at least a half hour to get there without getting lost."

Alicia couldn't suppress a grin but she knew Angelina couldn't see it.

"Alright, I'll come out but mark my words; I'm going to walk around for the rest of the day with my cloak over my head, so be prepared to be associated with the Grim Reaper for your entire Hogwarts life."

"What on earth is that?" Angelina asked. "It sounds ridiculous," she said, sniggering.

"Oh I forgot, Muggle saying," Alicia said. "The Grim Reaper is a creepy thing in a black cloak which represents death."

"Oh. Morbid," Angelina said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "In this world, I believe we call it something like a Dementor."

"And you thought 'Grim Reaper' was a ridiculous name," Alicia muttered. She took a deep breath. "Alright I'm coming out," she said.

"Ok, I'll try not to get too excited," replied Angelina sarcastically.

Alicia made a noise of annoyance but held her tongue. She unlocked the door slowly and stepped out.

Angelina gasped. "You look hideous!" she exclaimed.

Alicia's face crumpled. "I know," she sighed unhappily.

Angelina burst out laughing. "Oh dear Merlin, your _face_!" And she dissolved again into a fit of giggles. She looked up to see Alicia glaring at her.

"Sorry…sorry," Angelina said, as she struggled to keep a straight face.

"How bad is it really?" asked Alicia anxiously. "Truthfully."

"There's barely anything wrong. Your face is just a little pink, rosy some might say."

"Really?" asked Alicia, peering worriedly in the mirror.

"Slash kind of purple-blue," Angelina added, looking in beside her.

"Great." Alicia sighed and rubbed her face. "Remind me never to sit beside George Weasley in Potions _ever_ again."


	2. The Weasleys

**Chapter 2: The Weasleys**

* * *

It was three weeks into a new year at Hogwarts, and Alicia Spinnet was enjoying every minute of it. Excepting the George Weasley Potions incident that left her looking like a piece of over-boiled cabbage of course. She loved the beautiful grounds and the amazing classes; she was already very popular and was firm friends with a certain Angelina Johnson.

But most of all she loved to watch the older witches and wizards play Quidditch. She would sigh with envy as she watched them soar high above the grounds, the wind blowing through their hair and looks of pure joy on their faces. She couldn't wait until second year when she could try for the team. Of course, the competition would be stiff. George Weasley and his twin Fred insisted that they would be the first second-years on the team. "Beaters," they told her confidently. "Twin beaters."

"The others teams better watch out then," she had laughed. "I can't imagine anything more dangerous than a Weasley with a bat…well, except a Weasley in potions!" George chuckled as he remembered the little 'accident'.

"Don't let my brother Charlie hear you say that. He prides himself on being top of the class in Potions," Fred had said, shovelling food into his mouth. Alicia had not failed to notice how much food the Weasley twins ate. They literally could have cleared a table-full between the two of them.

"Wait, there are _more_ of you?" she asked, in disbelief. "Nightmare," she muttered under her breath.

Fred laughed. "Yeah, would you believe it? Haven't you seen any other glaringly red heads around school yet?"

"There's no red head quite like a Weasley one," George informed her with a hint of…was that pride?

Alicia giggled.

"Well there are three more of us Weasleys here," George explained. "There's Bill, Charlie and Percy. Bill is sitting just down there. He's a fifth year…and a _prefect_." George sneered as he said the word. "I mean honestly, who'd want to be one of those? Must be bloody boring. But Bill's cool."

Alicia glanced down the row of Gryffindors and immediately spotted the bright red hair. The boy was tall as he sat in his seat and had very blue eyes. His red hair was vivid; short but unruly. He was laughing and his perfect white teeth flashed in the light.

"Yeah," snorted Fred. "Perfect, isn't he? Mum just loves him, except for the fact that he wants to grow his hair long. She won't let him of course. She says it'll look untidy. Neat freak, she is."

Alicia laughed. She loved the Weasley twins with their incessant chatter and their immediate ability to make everyone and anyone laugh.

"Where are the others? I don't see any other startlingly bright red heads around."

"Oh yeah, lucky for Charlie, or 'unlucky' as I'd say, he's only half inherited the Weasley hair. His is darker than ours. He's over there." Fred pointed to him.

Alicia looked and saw what they meant. His hair was a darker red, with a hint of brown; it was ruffled and windswept. His eyes, she could just about see, were a beautiful dark blue colour. He was medium height and already quite muscular, though he couldn't have been more than about thirteen or fourteen, she speculated. He was chatting happily to his friends, not noticing the admiring glances from the girls nearby, nor the staring of a young Gryffindor first year.

"Yeah, that's Charlie. He's great fun, a hilarious practical joker- he drives Mum nuts…a bit big-headed though!" Fred joked.

"Quidditch players," George tutted, in mock disapproval.

"Wow, that's quite a family you've got," Alicia marvelled.

"Oh, that's not it," George replied, airily. "Don't forget Percy."

"How could we?" Fred groaned and rolled his eyes.

"He's a second year, but he's already trying to be Minister for Magic," George explained.

"Pompous git," Fred added irritably.

Alicia was shocked. A family of five boys!

"Oh and there are two more back at home; Ron and our little sister Ginny. They're too young for Hogwarts just yet, but Ron'll be here in 2 years' time. He'll be a failure from the start." Fred chuckled with glee. "I can't wait!"

"Some quality Ron-mocking time without Mum to protect poor ickle Ronniekins!" George rubbed his hands together with an evil grin.

"There's…seven of you," Alicia said, astounded.

"Took you long enough to do the maths," observed Fred, with a grin.

"No, it's because I couldn't get a word in edgewise with you two," Alicia laughed. "But seriously, seven? And only one girl. Poor thing. If the others are anything like you two, it must be torture!"

"Oh, it is. Trust us," the twins said, in unison, their faces lit up with mischief.


	3. The Marauder's Map

**Chapter 3: The Marauder's Map**

* * *

"Hey, Ali!"

Alicia turned her head to see Fred (or George, she couldn't be sure) sprinting towards her.

"Hi," she said as he fell into step beside her.

"So, guess what we just found?" Fred had a mischievous glint in his eye and his voice sparkled with excitement.

"What?" she sighed, but with a smile on her face.

"Ok, you can't tell anyone but we found the most awesome thing in Filch's office!"

"Filch's office? What were you doing there?" Alicia asked, disapproval colouring her voice.

"Well, _George _let off a Dungbomb in the Charms corridor. I just happened to be there too, not as a lookout or anything."

"Sure," said Alicia, sarcastically. "You're about as innocent as Peeves."

"Well, unfortunately Filch happened to be just around the corner and _so he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual- detention…disembowelment…and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_…"

"You didn't."

"Oh come on, Alicia. Do you really believe that we could just let it sit there, unexplored?"

"No. I don't. But-"

"George let off another Stinkbomb and I nicked _this_ from his drawer."

"Oh, honestly Fred. You two are just awful. What if Filch finds out?"

"He won't. I don't think he ever knew how to work it. But we did. Didn't take us long either; thus proving that we are very capable and intelligent wizards."

"Or that you're just absolutely insanely crazy," she muttered.

"It's great- _this little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school_."

"What, that raggedy old piece of parchment?" Alicia said sceptically, looking at the old worn square piece of paper.

"A piece of old parchment!" Fred exclaimed, in an affronted tone. "Watch this."

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_

"I can believe that," Alicia smirked.

But as she watched the parchment, she saw thin lines of ink which began to spread across the paper and words began to write themselves in curly green letters:

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present:

"THE MARAUDER'S MAP," Alicia whispered as she read the words that had now spread across the top of the parchment.

Below the words, a detailed map showing every part of Hogwarts and its grounds had now revealed itself. Tiny ink dots moved around the paper and each was labelled with a name in miniature writing. It showed that "Severus Snape" was currently sitting in his office in the Dungeons and…there she was herself; in a charms classroom standing beside "Fred Weasley". Alicia was dumbfounded. It was truly amazing.

"That's…that's seriously skilled magic," she observed.

"Isn't it?" Fred said, patting it fondly. "Pure genius."

"You should hand that in to Professor McGonagall," Alicia chided him. "It could be dangerous."

"What?" Fred cried out, "Hand it in? No way. Oh, lighten up Ali; this is a blessing in disguise for us."

"_Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." _

Fred groaned. "You sound like my dad. Honestly, Alicia. I don't see how this can be risky. And neither does George. That's two against one. Overruled." Fred sounded pleased with his reasoning.

"George doesn't count. You two are as bad as each other."

"Come on Alicia," Fred wheedled. "Have a bit of fun. Be a rebel. Look, we'll just test it out; sneak into Honeydukes."

"What's Honeydukes?" Alicia asked curiously.

"I keep forgetting you don't know the best things about the wizarding world. Honeydukes is in Hogsmeade. Best sweet shop ever."

"Hogsmeade? But only third years and above are allowed to go there."

"Exactly, we can't wait that long."

Alicia sighed. "Oh, alright then. But be careful. And if you get caught, don't come crying to me."

Fred grinned. "Wait, you're forbidden to tell anyone. Here, make an Unbreakable Vow."

"I may be Muggle born but I'm not a complete idiot, Fred Weasley. And if I catch you doing that again, I'll hex you into next century," Alicia said, grinning. "…when I learn how," she added.

"Alright then. Come on, let's find George and Angelina."

* * *

**A/N. **Some of you may have recognised the parts in italics; they are quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They seemed to fit well into this chapter…


	4. Snape and the Snitch

**Chapter 4: Snape and the Snitch**

* * *

"I hate Divination," Charlie fumed as he and his best friend splashed through the mud and torrential rain on the way to Herbology. "So bloody boring."

"Come along, boys," Professor Sprout called from Greenhouse 2. "You're late."

"Sorry, Professor," Charlie said, with an apologetic smile.

"That's alright, Mr Weasley," said Sprout, smiling fondly at one of her favourite students. "Now, today we're..."

"You'll never believe what those rogues have been up to now," Charlie whispered to Sam a minute later as he peeled his Puffapods and emptied their shiny beans into his bucket.

"I'm guessing you mean Fred and George?" Sam replied, grinning at the thought of the flaming haired twins.

"Who else?" Charlie chuckled, his bad mood forgotten. "So, I've been forbidden to tell anyone this but what fun is a secret if you can't tell anyone? Anyway, I'm pretty sure Fred's already told some girl friend of his."

Charlie lowered his voice to lower than a whisper but he needn't have worried about eavesdroppers as the greenhouse was packed with hordes of third years; shouting, chattering and swearing at the tops of their voices.

"So, as the trouble breakers you and I both know they are, they were in Filch's office for some prank or other. And they found this map which shows, not only all of Hogwarts, but also secret passages into Hogsmeade."

"You're kidding!" Sam whispered back, in awe. "I've got to use it. McGonagall banned me from Hogsmeade for two months because I snuck in some Firewhisky from the Hog's Head last weekend."

"No, you can't. You can't tell anyone you know about it. Fred and George will have my head if they know that I told you."

"Alright, alright. I won't tell. But just think of the parties we could have! Mmm…butterbeer, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, sugar quills, peppermint toads, fizzing whizzbees, chocoballs..." Sam fantasised dreamily.

"So, with Gryffindor's first match coming up tomorrow, Fred and George are planning to sneak into Hogsmeade to get some stuff for a party in the common room after," Charlie said in an undertone as they left the greenhouse an hour later.

"No way! Awesome! I just hope we win. You'd better catch that darn Snitch pretty fast. I couldn't bear it if Slytherin won the first match of the season."

"No problem," grinned Charlie, confidently. "Catching the Snitch is as easy as a Shrinking Solution."

Sam rolled his eyes. Not everyone found Potions as easy as his talented friend. Or Quidditch for that matter.

A second later, a group of third years in robes of Slytherin green brushed past them. As they passed Charlie and Sam, a few of them stopped and smirked at them nastily.

* * *

It was beginning to get dark. The sun had just set over the lake and the orange glow on the horizon was fading. The rain that had previously been a light drizzle was now heavy and Charlie was drenched. He swooped down regretfully and landed smoothly on the Quidditch pitch turf. He clutched the little golden Snitch tightly in his hand. Putting the ball away in the cupboard and pulling on a jumper, he left the changing room and headed up to the common room. He tried to avoid dripping mud everywhere as he picked his way up the moving staircases and past trick steps which were unhelpfully laid out for him.

He faintly heard Filch reprimanding someone in the distance ahead of him and hurried down the stairs, deciding to go past Snape's office in the dungeon corridor rather than face Filch with muddy shoes and sodden, dripping clothes. As he passed Snape's open doorway, he heard low voices coming from his office. Knowing that it was none of his business and knowing that he shouldn't, Charlie crept towards the door and listened. He'd always suspected Snape of being up to no good and he was curious as to who Snape was talking to in such hushed tones.

"I heard it, I promise. From his brother. They're going to sneak into Hogsmeade tomorrow. First years are forbidden from Hogsmeade, sir."

Charlie heard Snape sneer and could imagine his sallow face curving into a nasty smile as he envisaged what he could do to the red-headed twins he detested so much.

"Thank you. They will be dealt with appropriately when I catch them." Charlie could almost hear the glee in Snape's sour voice.

He peered around the door cautiously, but couldn't see the face of the person who was sitting in the office with Snape. He couldn't even tell if it was a girl or boy as they were wearing a hood, pulled up to cover their head. Their voice was low but could have been either male or female. Charlie frowned and ran a hand through his already tousled dark red hair. He heard the person get up and he quickly darted into the shadows underneath the nearest staircase. As the person left the office and swept past his hiding place, he tried to catch a glimpse of their face but he couldn't see it in the gloom of the dungeon corridor.

Suddenly he heard a group of Slytherins coming along the passage and he rushed up the stairs to his own common room. It wouldn't do for the Gryffindor Seeker to be found alone by a group of Slytherins in the dungeons the evening before the big match.

"Pigfarts," he said absently to the Fat Lady as he reached the portrait hole.

"Alright, dear?" the Fat Lady asked, kindly. "Tough day?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah, alright thanks. A bit tiring." He rubbed his eyes, wearily.

He stepped through the portrait hole into the warm common room and a wave of noise hit him as soon as he entered.

He spotted one of Fred and George's friends in the corner. He called to the pretty first year. "Angelina!" She looked up from her chess game with Henry Frost, another first year.

"Yeah?"

"You seen Fred or George?" Charlie asked urgently.

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. Sorry." She turned back to her game and Charlie gave up and walked up the staircase to the boys' dormitory with a sigh. He called to a few of the boys in Fred and George's dorm, asking if they'd seen the twins. They all shook their heads apologetically. No one had seen them.

Charlie scowled. Where were those vagabonds when he needed them? The match was tomorrow. How was he going to find them before they got into trouble? He was rather concerned that it was his fault too. He sighed. He could foresee a Howler in the near future…

* * *

The next day dawned bright and fair. Charlie was pleased when he saw the weather. Perfect Quidditch conditions. He dressed in his scarlet and gold Quidditch robes, grabbed his Cleansweep from under his bed and hurried down to breakfast. There he found a horde of happy Gryffindors, dressed brightly in their house colours, eagerly awaiting the upcoming match. He scanned the crowd quickly, suddenly remembering the important news he'd discovered yesterday. But there was still no sign of Fred and George. He pushed the worries from his mind and plopped down beside his best friends Sam and Robbie, grabbing a piece of toast.

"Looking forward to the match?" Robbie O'Connor asked cheerfully. He was decked out from head to toe in red and gold with a crimson scarf around his neck.

"Did you need to go so overboard, Robbie?" Charlie chuckled, when he saw his friend's attire. "Anyone would think this was your first ever Quidditch match."

The Irish boy laughed good-naturedly and ruffled his fair curly hair with a sheepish grin. "How are you feeling, Charlie?"

"Over-confident, as always," Sam interrupted. "Big-headed…as always," he laughed, nudging Robbie.

Charlie glowered at the sniggering pair. "There's no such thing as over-confident. You two are just jealous."

"Sure," Sam said, slapping him on the back. "Now, hurry up or you'll be late."

"And here comes the Gryffindor team; Captain Abbott, Bridge, Dancy, Wilkinson, Montague, Wood and….WEASLEY!"

Huge cheers greeted Charlie as he soared out of the tunnel into the sunlight. He grinned, despite himself and did a loop in mid-air.

"And there is the young Charlie Weasley, the best Seeker Gryffindor have had since the famous James Potter!" The commentator was a young boy with black dreadlocks. Charlie recognised him as Fred and George's friend, the rascal Lee Jordan.

"Captains Abbott and Cross shake hands on the pitch," Lee boomed, on his magical microphone.

Charlie saw a look of pure determination and loathing on both the captains' faces.

"And the balls have been released!"

Charlie immediately began scanning the sky for a glimpse of gold.

He watched from the top of the stadium as Gryffindor's Chaser, Simone Wilkinson scored their first goal. Applause erupted from the red and gold supporters.

He smiled with delight and searched closer than ever for the Snitch.

Ten minutes later, Gryffindor were thirty up and Charlie scrutinised the audience for a sign of the twins. But he couldn't see them in the crowd.

While he was staring at the mass of students, he missed the Slytherin seeker darting through the air towards the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie suddenly noticed and shot after him. His Cleansweep was a relatively new model and better than the other Seeker's but he was still a good way behind.

Two brooms plummeted towards to the ground at breakneck speed. The ground was rising faster and faster towards them and the Snitch wasn't slowing.

But Charlie wasn't giving up. At the last minute the Slytherin boy pulled out of the dive and Charlie snatched through the air and felt the satisfying feel of the cold hard metal in his fist before he wrenched his broom upwards and landed gracefully on the sandy floor of the stadium. The pitch exploded with cheers.

He felt his team mates swoop down on him and hug him violently. "You did it!" Voices cried out gleefully. A perfect start to the season, thought Charlie, his face alight with joy.

* * *

There was a lot of shouting and cheering in the changing rooms afterwards. Charlie chatted happily to Simmie Wilkinson, the 7th year Chaser. She grinned delightedly. "This is going to be _our _year, Charlie," she said, "I can feel it!" And she danced off, singing to herself.

He was just about to go and shower when he remembered Fred and George.

"Shit," he muttered to himself and tore off up the stairs, trying desperately to remember the entrance to the passageway to Hogsmeade that Fred and George had told him about.

Ah yes, the statue of the One-Eyed Witch on the third floor. There was some spell to open it, wasn't there?

He racked his brains but he couldn't for the life of him remember the spell. He paced up and down in front of the statue and rubbed his temples.

Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

"Can't remember the spell?"

He whirled around to see the person who had spoken but there was no one there. Only a portrait of a shepherdess.

"Do you know it?" he asked tentatively.

"Why yes. I just saw those red headed scamps use that passageway."

"Fred and George!" Charlie exclaimed. "What's the password?" He looked at her eagerly. "Please," he added with a dazzling smile.

"Oh my," she said, giggling. "Well, I suppose I can tell you. It's Dissendium."

"Thank you," he said breathlessly and hurried off.

Less than five minutes later, someone else arrived, in a hurry. The person tapped the statue, climbed in and rushed down the dark passage where Charlie Weasley had hurried down only moments before.


	5. She's A Rebel

**A/N. **This chapter starts with a flashback (italics), just so you know. Sorry it's been so long. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 5: She's a Rebel**

* * *

_Alicia was hurrying back from the lake when she heard something very strange whispered in hushed tones. She stopped under the open window and peered in. Snape's office. What was that git up to now?_

"_I heard it, I promise. From his brother. They're going to sneak into Hogsmeade tomorrow. First years are forbidden from Hogsmeade, sir," said the snide voice. _

"_Thank you. They will be dealt with appropriately when I catch them." Snape's lip curled into a malicious sneer. _

_Alicia rolled her eyes as she listened at the open window. She was going to kill Fred and George. What happened to NOT getting caught? She ground her teeth in irritation. Now she was going to have to find the stupid fools and warn them. She frowned and hurried off to find them. _

_She plopped down on the sofa in the common room with an exasperated groan an hour later. They were nowhere to be found. What was going on? The twins spent half their time hunting her down and annoying the life out of her with their harebrained schemes and absolute sheer craziness. And now the one time she needed them, they seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. To be honest, she wasn't overly surprised. She'd always known that one day, one of their lunatic ideas would make them vanish completely. Just, why this day?_

* * *

_Alicia sighed heavily as she sat eating breakfast with Angelina on the morning of the first Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. _

"_Come on, Alicia. Cheer up. Don't worry about Fred and George. They can look after themselves. Just enjoy the game. We can find them after." Angelina made a vain effort to cheer her up._

"_But by then, it'll be too late."_

"_Oh yes, sorry I forgot you were Miss Melodramatic," Angelina commented dryly, rolling her eyes._

_Alicia was too worried to notice. In fact she was so absorbed in thinking that she completely missed Angelina gushing to her about the gorgeous Gryffindor Seeker everyone was talking about. _

"_Apparently, he's the best Seeker in years. And have you seen his dreamy eyes? It's not surprising half the girls in the school are crazy for him…" Angelina's words were distant to Alicia. _

"_Alicia? Alicia? Are you listening to me?" Angelina's impatient voice broke through Alicia's reverie. "No, of course you're not. Look, I don't understand why you're so worried about Fred and George. They know what they're getting themselves into." _

"_Yeah, you're right," said Alicia, but she couldn't shake the guilty feeling that she wasn't doing all she could._

* * *

Alicia groaned and clutched her side as she panted up the steps to the third floor. Darn those twins, she was going to skin them alive when she found them.

She reached the statue, tapped it and climbing in, she tore off down the dark passageway. Finally, after what seemed like hours of endless running…

"Bugger." Alicia grabbed her foot and hopped around in pain. She winced as she heard a pile of crates clattering loudly to the floor.

"Sshhh," she hissed furiously.

"Oh great," she thought. "I'm talking to a crate."

And she hurried off, still muttering to herself. She soon came to what looked like a storeroom and immediately caught sight of a small flight of stairs, leading up to a trapdoor. She rushed up the steps and cautiously pushed the trapdoor up an inch. She could see a little into what appeared to be a large sweetshop. It was empty for now. She breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the trapdoor up fully and climbed out. Brushing the dust from her clothes, she looked around her.

So this must be Honeydukes that Fred and George kept going on about. It certainly was amazing. Jars and boxes seemed to fill every available space. An enormous counter, filled with an assortment of peculiar looking sweets, stretched the full length of the far wall. Alicia looked around her in amazement. The sudden sound of voices and laughter from above the shop brought her to her senses and she remembered what she was doing here. Fred and George. Where on earth were they?

She quietly pushed open the glass door with a slight jangle and stepped out into the gathering dark. She looked around her, wondering which way to go. Most of the shops seemed to be closed but she could see a pub, The Three Broomsticks, which was lit up brightly and she could hear raucous laughter and singing. She approached the pub. It seemed to be full of people and as she peered through the window, she couldn't see any glaringly red heads. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she quickly hurried away along a cobbled street until she came to an older looking pub which wasn't so brightly lit. An old crooked sign that read "The Hog's Head" dangled above it and overall it looked generally unwelcoming. Through the dirty window she caught sight of a mop of red hair and she rushed in, shouting.

"Fred! George! Finally, I've been looking all over for you. Snape knows you're…" she trailed off as she caught sight of the two other people in the room. She paled.

"Ah, Miss Spinnet. How nice of you to join us," Snape said smoothly. Alicia just stood still, her mouth agape. "Looks like you'll be joining the Weasleys here, in detention." He motioned to the three red haired boys standing awkwardly beside him.

She glared daggers at Fred and George and they looked away guiltily. She recognised the other Weasley to be Charlie, the Quidditch player but she was too angry to take much notice of him. She closed her mouth and looked over at Snape.

"I think it's time you returned to the castle. After all, you wouldn't want to miss the _celebrations,_" Snape sneered as he said the word. "You'd better give me those," he said icily to Fred and held out his hand for the bottles of Butterbeer and the boxes of sweets. Fred glowered as he handed them over.

"Come along." And Snape swept out, a pleased smile on his face.

* * *

"Alicia, we're-"

"Don't, George. I'm too angry right now," Alicia warned him. George shut his mouth and climbed through the portrait hole. Fred followed him.

"After you," said Charlie politely. Alicia gave him a curt nod of thanks and climbed through after the twins.

"What's up, Fred, George? Where's all the stuff?" One second year called out. The room fell silent.

"We got busted," George replied gloomily and flung himself down on the couch.

"There's always next time," said Fred, trying to cheer him up as the normal chatter and laughter resumed. "Snape doesn't know about the map. We just need to be a little more careful."

George smiled weakly and glanced over at Alicia who was sitting, muttering furiously to Angelina.

"How are we going to explain this to Alicia?" George asked, rubbing his forehead. "She seems pretty bloody angry right now."

"She'll come around. No one can resist the Weasley charm for long," Fred said, always the optimist.

"Yeah, well it is Alicia. She's a pretty tough one to crack." George sighed and pulled out his books and quill and made a start on his pile of homework.

It appeared that the _celebrations_ were over.


	6. Dr Filibuster's

**Chapter 6: Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start No Heat Fireworks**

* * *

The next morning Alicia was shaken awake by Angelina. "What?" she grumbled blearily.

"It's eight o'clock," Angelina smirked, regarding Alicia's sleepy eyes and tousled hair sceptically.

"You're not going to go out like that, are you?" she asked, scandalised, a few minutes later when Alicia was dressed in her blouse with scruffy rolled up sleeves and undone tie, with her hair still a ruffled mess and heading for the door.

"At least let me do your hair."

Alicia sighed resignedly and sat down again. Five minutes later they left the dormitory last, with Alicia's pretty brown curls pinned up neatly.

Breakfast that morning was a quiet affair as Alicia was half asleep and not paying much attention to what she was eating. Angelina tried in vain to engage her in conversation about the details of the previous evening's excitement. Fred and George made numerous attempts to catch Alicia's eye but either from her sleepiness or her annoyance toward them, she ignored them completely.

"Come on, Ali. Talk to them," Angelina reasoned. "It's not really their fault that you got detention, is it?" she said fairly.

Alicia frowned and thought about it. "Oh alright. But they're going to have to make it up to me. I told them to be careful and I had to go after them when I overheard Snape. I couldn't just leave it, could I?"

Angelina smiled at Alicia's earnest face. What a loyal friend Alicia was. She herself probably would have just left the idiots to jolly well get caught.

"There you go," she said, "I knew you couldn't stay mad at them for long."

At that moment, a mousy haired boy in Slytherin robes approached their table. "A note from Professor Snape," he announced and handed the parchment to Alicia. She smiled and thanked him.

She opened the note, scanned it and groaned. "What?" asked Angelina.

"My first detention with Snape is tonight and I'm going to be sorting rotten Flobberworms."

She sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Fred and George caught up to Alicia just before Potions. "Hey, Ali! Angelina told us that you're going to forgive us," one of them beamed. "Knew you couldn't resist the Weasley charm." He smirked.

So it was Fred then. She punched him lightly on the arm and grinned. "Yes, I will but you'd better be on your best behaviour over the next few days or I might change my mind. Come on," she smiled and they followed her into Potions.

As soon as she entered, Alicia saw Snape give her a nasty glare. She quailed. Great, so it was going to be that kind of lesson. She sat down at the back of the dungeon with Fred, George and Angelina and kept her head down, not that she thought it would really help.

And she was right. It didn't. "Purple, Miss Spinnet? Can you tell me exactly why your potion is purple? Did I not tell you specifically that Boil Cure Potion is supposed to be red?" Snape sneered.

"You have clearly not followed my instructions carefully enough. I expressly said to add the crushed snake fangs _before_ the Porcupine Quills. This is not acceptable."

"But sir," Angelina piped up, "Morrison's is much darker than Alicia's." She pointed over to where a large nasty-looking Slytherin boy stirred a distinctly tar like potion.

"Be quiet, Miss Johnson, unless you wish to join Miss Spinnet and the Weasleys in detention," Snape snapped.

Angelina shut her mouth quickly.

"Start again," Snape ordered.

"But sir, there isn't time," Alicia protested.

"Ah, a shame." As he swept away, she saw him scribble something in his book that looked suspiciously like a zero. Perfect. What a wonderful day this was turning out to be.

And the perfect day continued next lesson in Charms when Warrington and his senseless Slytherin cronies "accidently" set her eyebrows on fire, claiming they thought they were the slugs they were supposed to be levitating. What an idiot.

Alicia groaned as she traipsed over to the hospital wing to have them fixed.

She was almost relieved to get to lunch without a serious accident. She complained to Angelina as she gulped down her shepherd's pie in huge mouthfuls.

"Slow down, Alicia," Angelina warned, "Don't worry, the food's not going to disappear the second you stop!" Angelina looked half amused, half disgusted.

Alicia swallowed a particularly large mouthful and grimaced. "Sorry, your highness, I just need something to take my mind off things."

"Yes well, I don't think eating like a pig is the way to go. It's very unladylike; what will everybody think?" Angelina reprimanded her.

"Oh, I really doubt they'll care," Alicia shrugged. "I'm not the most interesting person around here." And she continued to shovel food into her mouth at an alarming rate.

Angelina gave up, sighing and muttering to herself.

* * *

"Charlie!" A tall, good looking red headed boy dropped into the seat beside him and started piling food onto his plate.

"Hey Bill," Charlie grinned at his brother.

"I heard you got a detention, saving the twins' scrawny butts," Bill said, trying to hide his smile.

"Well…" Charlie said slowly. "I have a feeling that it was kind of my fault."

Bill turned to look at him, surprised. Charlie looked guilty.

"How?" Bill asked.

"Well, I think someone may have overheard me telling Sam about…" he broke off as he suddenly realised that Bill didn't know about the map.

Charlie glanced at Bill who was looking at him curiously. "Oh, well I think someone may have overheard me talking about Fred and George's Hogsmeade party plans," Charlie covered up hastily.

"Yes, well you probably should have told me when you knew about their plans." Bill looked stern. "After all, I am a prefect."

"Oh shush," Charlie grinned, shoving his brother. "You're not really. You wouldn't stoop to Percy standards of actually _obeying rules_."

Bill smirked at this and gave a chuckle. "Still, even if it _was_ your fault, it was good of you to try to warn them."

"Some friend of theirs apparently also knew about Snape and she tried to warn them too but she also got caught. I don't know why she didn't just leave them to their well-deserved fate."

"Ah, Fred and George are lucky to have such a loyal friend. Now off you go; Abbott told me to find you. You've got Quidditch practice _now_, you idiot!" Bill gave his head a swipe and sent him off to the dormitory to get changed.

* * *

Ten minutes later, dressed in his scarlet Quidditch robes and clutching his broomstick, Charlie headed out onto the pitch.

"Hurry up Weasley! You're late," the captain, Abbott called from where the rest of the team were gathered by the hoops at one end of the stadium.

Charlie jogged over to where they were standing.

"So, today we're going to be practising the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. Dancy, Wilkinson, you two will fly in this part of the triangle while I…"

Charlie wasn't really paying attention to what Abbott was saying as he gesticulated and demonstrated what he wanted his chasers to do.

Charlie's mind drifted elsewhere. He wondered how on earth he was going to get all his homework done. He thought about the enormous pile of work waiting for him in the common room. He considered skipping dinner to get it done. And then he remembered with a jolt that he had his first detention with Snape tonight. _When am I going to do my homework?_ he thought in panic.

"Weasley!" A sharp tone broke into his thoughts. "Weasley, are you paying attention? This applies to you too. You have to know what each player on your team is doing when. You don't want to get in the way." The captain was looking at him crossly.

"Yes, yes sorry. Just got a bit distracted." He flashed him an apologetic look.

"Alright," Abbott said brusquely. "Let's put this into practice. Wood, up to the hoops. Montague, Bridge, go get your bats." They hurried off. "And Weasley-" Charlie turned. "-try and pay attention when you're flying at least. We don't need any more injuries."

Charlie obeyed and soared up into the sky.

* * *

At seven that evening, Fred, George, Charlie and Alicia arrived promptly at Snape's office for their detentions.

"What a pleasure to see you four." Snape gave a nasty smirk. "I trust you received my note and you will know what _lovely_ jobs await you." He smirked again.

Charlie saw out the corner of his eye Alicia glowering at Snape. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself.

"Isn't it a shame you didn't get away with your little plan?" Snape continued, his sallow face leering at them, clearly enjoying this. "Too bad your own flesh and blood ratted you out."

All four of them immediately frowned. Snape watched them with a smirk, enjoying the reaction he had created.

"Now, Spinnet, Weasley," Snape said briskly, motioning to Alicia and Charlie, "Get to work on these barrels," he ordered. "You two, off to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will be there and she will tell me if you try to use magic." He looked menacingly at the twins.

"I will be attending to duties on the fourth floor. You'd better have all these ingredients sorted when I come back in two hours' time," he said to Alicia and Charlie. And he swept out, his cloak swishing behind him.

Alicia groaned and moved forward to peer into the barrels.

"You're lucky, you are," George moaned. "We've got to clean out the hospital bedpans…without magic."

"I'd take that over _this _any day," Alicia said, looking with disgust at the enormous barrels of Flobberworms. "I'm pretty sure _most_ of those are rotten. And we're not allowed to wear gloves."

"What about you, Charlie?" Fred asked, turning to his brother. "Which would you rather?"

"I'm not too bothered, to be honest. I've done both, they're both equally disgusting," he grinned, seeing the looks on the first years' faces. "It's not so bad, detention virgins, you'll get used to it. You two will especially," he said, looking at the twins in mock disapproval. "You've got years of rule breaking to come."

The twins grinned.

"What was Snape talking about before? Your own flesh and blood?" Alicia asked, still frowning.

The twins shrugged. "It's Snape, isn't it? Just try to wind us up I expect," said George.

"No, I don't think he can have been making it up…that's not his style," said Charlie thoughtfully. "Which means it must be true." Realisation dawned on his face. "And I think I know exactly who did it."

The twins nodded grimly.

"We'll get him later," Fred said, scowling in displeasure. "Come on, George, let's go."

And they left. Charlie sat down beside one of the barrels, dug his hand in and began sorting the slimy worms. Alicia just stood still behind him and when he turned to ask her what was wrong, he noticed her face was rather pale and tinged with green.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. "Do you need to sit down?"

She didn't answer, just shook her head, looking rather faint. Charlie still looked at her, with worry in his eyes.

"Never seen a dead Flobberworm before? I can tell you, they're not much better alive either," he joked but it didn't seem to make her feel better.

He got up and pulled her over to a chair, away from the barrels. He sat her down and fetched a goblet from the cupboard nearby. "Aguamenti," he muttered, conjuring some water in the bottom of the goblet.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "Drink."

She took it and drank gratefully. A little of the colour returned to her face and she smiled weakly.

"I don't feel too good. But I don't think it's anything to do with those Flobberworms."

Meanwhile, Fred and George scrubbed away at the bedpans in the Hospital Wing. "I cannot believe we have to do this," grumbled Fred. "It's practically slave labour."

"Hmm," said George, putting down his cloth. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" George asked, with a mischievous smile.

Fred stared at him for a moment, then a slow grin spread across his face. "No!" Fred pretended to look scandalised. "You wouldn't. Not when we're already in detention. Snape would blow a vein." His grin widened. "Perfect."

"Dr Filibuster, here we come!" George whooped.

* * *

An hour later, while most of the school were happily finishing dinner in the Great Hall, there was suddenly a low bang and the castle gave a small shudder.

"Did you feel that?" Robbie whispered to Sam as they sat eating dinner in the packed and noisy Great Hall.

"Yeah, what was it?"

Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall opened with an almighty bang. Snape strode in, with a murderous look on his sallow face and hurried up to the teachers' table. Speaking furiously to McGonagall, he stormed from the room, McGonagall following a moment later.

A sudden whispering and hissing broke out around the hall. All at once, nearly everybody rose from their seats and rushed out to see the commotion for themselves.

Sam frowned and looked at Robbie. "Come on; let's find out what's going on." And they hurried out after the rest of the school. The other teachers exchanged curious glances but remained in the hall.

They followed the crowd and as they reached the top of the stairs, there was the distinct sound of "pop"s and "bang"s. Upon reaching the third floor corridor, an extraordinary sight met their eyes.

Enormous blue and red sparks flew through the air and each spark exploded into at least twenty more golden stars. Almost the entire school was gathered and were watching, whooping and laughing in awe. Snape stood at the doors of the Hospital Wing, apoplectic with rage. If looks could kill, everyone in the school would have died on the spot. Robbie and Sam pushed forward to where Charlie and Alicia were standing, looking extremely confused but amused at the same time.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, as soon as he reached them.

"I have absolutely no idea," Charlie replied, chuckling with glee, "But it's awesome." Then something dawned on him. "Hang on a second; I think I can guess who's behind this."

"Fred and George," four voices said in unison. And promptly burst out laughing. Even Alicia, who was still feeling unwell and should, by rights, have been disapproving. But she just couldn't help it.

And glancing over at Snape, whose eyes were bulging dangerously and whose face was twisted with anger, made it even more hilarious.

Alicia caught sight of McGonagall and found her reaction extremely surprising. McGonagall's lips appeared to be twitching as if she were trying to hold back laughter.

Then she gained control over herself.

"Come, come everyone, off you go," she said briskly. "Prefects!"

The crowd began to disperse as the students started to leave, still laughing and whispering about the spectacle they had just witnessed.

"Where are Fred and George?" Alicia whispered to Charlie. He glanced around.

"No idea."

They were nowhere to be seen.

"Miss Spinnet, Mr Weasley; over here, please," McGonagall called. Charlie and Alicia looked at each other in surprise.

"What does she want with us?" Charlie wondered aloud.

"She can't possibly…think we did it," Alicia said. "No, this is way too obviously 'Fred and George style'!"

"Now Mr Weasley, I believe you and Miss Spinnet were serving detention when this…incident occurred." McGonagall looked at them pointedly.

"Oh no, it wasn't us, Professor. I swear, we were just-" Alicia began hurriedly.

"No, no of course not," McGonagall interrupted. "I wasn't suggesting…I was just wondering if you had seen perhaps who had…you know, caused this commotion."

"Well…no, Professor," Charlie said, after a brief pause. Alicia looked at him. "We were working in the dungeons; we only came up here when we heard the noise." He flashed her a demure smile as if to prove his innocence.

McGonagall couldn't help but smile back. "Of course, of course. I understand. Well, thank you. You may go."

"Oh and Mr Weasley? Perhaps you two had better just go back to your dormitories for now. I get the feeling Professor Snape isn't quite _in the mood_ for dealing with you right now." Again she looked surprisingly like she was desperately trying not to laugh.

"Thank you Professor," Charlie said, taking Alicia's elbow and steering her quickly away as Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey came storming over.

"Come on, quick. Let's get out of here."

They hurried along the corridor and up the staircase at the end, in fits of laughter, barely noticing that the staircase they were walking up was moving. When they had stopped laughing and realised this fact, they looked at each other in dismay.

"I hate it when this happens," Charlie grumbled, running a hand through his hair. He turned to see Alicia looking expectantly at him.

"Wha- don't look at me," he said hurriedly. "I have no more idea of where we are than you do."

"Great. Just wonderful," Alicia complained. "I bet Filch or that dratted cat of his will find us up here after curfew and add to the list of detentions already piling up. What a wonderful rule-abiding first year I am," Alicia muttered to herself.

She glanced at Charlie who, she couldn't help noticing with a surge of irritation, was looking rather amused at her little tirade.

"Well, don't just stand there grinning. Where are we? It's nearly curfew." She looked up and down the dark corridor they were now standing in, wondering how on earth they were going to find their way back to the Common Room in under three minutes, in the dark.

"Correction, it's nearly _your _curfew," Charlie grinned.

She ignored him and started off down the dark corridor.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Charlie called, squinting into the darkness.

"Back to the Common Room," her voice floated back.

"But you have no idea where we are!" he reminded her, running after her.

"Well, _I _only have three minutes to get back, so standing around here's not going to help much."

"Don't you think it would be better just to go back the way we came?"

"Well, you could try but can you actually see your way back? And I'm pretty sure the staircase will have moved again by now."

She was right. Plus, they were halfway down the corridor anyway. He hurried to catch up with her.

He pulled his wand out of his back pocket. "Lumos," he muttered. His wand tip ignited with a bright glow.

"Show off," Alicia grumbled under her breath. He smirked.

He strode forward and led the way. Shortly, they came to a door which, when tried, appeared to be locked.

"One sec," said Alicia. "I want to try this one." She extricated her wand from her robes and pointed it at the lock.

"Alohomora," she said firmly. The lock clicked and the door swung open.

"Impressive," Charlie said, with a smirk.

"Thank you," she said and walked briskly through the door.

Passing through the door, they came into another passageway and halfway along it, stood a familiar looking statue.

"Isn't that-" Alicia ran up to the statue to examine it closer.

"The one eyed witch. The passage to Hogsmeade," Charlie said, coming up behind her.

"I believe it's Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, to be precise," Alicia corrected.

Charlie smiled to himself. "Is there anything you don't know?" he chuckled.

"Not a lot," she replied. "Come on, I know where we are now."

She rushed off and Charlie followed her. They hurried up the nearby staircases until they reached the portrait hole.

"Fortuna major," Alicia said to the Fat Lady, out of breath.

"Cutting it a bit fine, aren't you, dear?" the Fat Lady said, as the portrait swung forward to allow them in.

"That was close," Charlie said. "For you, of course," he added.

"Right, I fancy a bit of homework to relax me after that."

Charlie looked at her incredulously.

She grinned. "I _was _kidding." And she went to fetch her books from her dormitory and returned with the most enormous armful of parchment and books. Dumping them on an available table beside Angelina, she sat down and pulled out her quill and parchment.

Charlie followed her lead and fetched his homework hastily. He looked at his pile of assignments in dismay as he sat down beside his friends Shaun, Tom and Sam with a heavy sigh.

"Anyone seen Fred or George?" he asked them.

"No, mate," Tom replied. "'Fraid not."

"Or Percy?" Charlie growled.

"Yeah, he's over there," Sam said, jerking his thumb across the common room to where Percy was studying a book very closely, his nose almost touching the page.

Charlie got up, a grim expression on his face and strode over to his younger brother.

"You _told_ on them?" he said, looking down at Percy with a disgusted expression.

Percy looked up from his book reluctantly and eyed Charlie with displeasure. He didn't even bother to look guilty.

"So what? They needed to be taught a lesson," he said, looking disinterested and turning back to his book.

"But Snape? Come on, Perce, really? We hate Snape," Charlie spat.

"I hoped that if they were caught early on in their rule-breaking by the likes of Professor Snape, perhaps it might knock some sense into their thick skulls. I will not be associated with those two knuckleheads! I won't! I have a reputation to uphold."

"What? A reputation of being a complete prat?" Charlie said. "You can't have thought that would actually work. It's Fred and George. They've been breaking the rules practically since they were born. They're not about to stop now just because of one little detention."

"It's your fault you know," said Percy angrily, knocking his glasses slightly askew as he got up. "You're the one who started them off on it! You're a bad example, with your constant…. disregard for the rules! You made them think that it's cool to be like that."

"Get over yourself, Percy. I may not be perfect, but at least I have a life," Charlie retorted, turning away and storming back over to his friends.

"I can't believe I'm related to that…_git_!"

"We don't believe it either, mate," Shaun said, chuckling at Percy who was now shouting at a group of first years, his chest thrust out pompously, looking extremely self-important.

Charlie flung himself angrily into his chair and pulled his homework towards him, muttering furiously.

By ten o'clock he'd managed to hurriedly scratch out six inches on Shrinking Solutions and filled out half his constellations chart for Astronomy. Quickly moving onto his Care of Magical Creatures essay on Crups, he sighed and rubbed his ink stained fingers. By eleven thirty, he'd finished all his essays and was contemplating starting his complicated Arithmancy homework, when Sam and Robbie (who had come into the Common Room earlier) came down from the dormitory in a sweater and pyjama bottoms and urged him to go to bed.

The Common Room was still not completely empty. In fact Alicia was still there, writing away feverishly accompanied by her friends Bella and Hannah. Angelina was curled up in an armchair by the fire with a book slowly slipping from her fingers as she slept.

A group of whispering fourth years were still gathered around someone's toad and were taking it in turns to practice enlarging it.

Everyone else had gone up to bed. Sensibly.

Fred and George, he assumed, had snuck in when he was engrossed in his essays. Glancing around again five minutes later, he saw that the whispering fourth years had dispersed and were now heading upstairs whilst Bella Davies and Hannah Kingsley disappeared up the stone steps to the girls' dormitories.

He looked over to see Alicia bend over Angelina and take the book from her fingers. She shook Angelina awake and took her upstairs.

So he was on his own then. He began his Arithmancy with a sigh. He was surprised when Alicia appeared again and sat back down and continued writing. He frowned. She looked exhausted and he wondered whether she was still feeling ill.

As she wrote, her tired eyes began to close.

He got up and walked over to where she was sitting. He gently took the quill from her shaking fingers and closed her Transfiguration book.

"You should go to bed," he said softly. "You're exhausted."

"No, no I'm really fine," she protested, her pale face looking weary and anxious.

"No, you're not," he insisted. "Please, you're not well. You need to sleep."

"I suppose you're right," she said, rubbing her tired eyes and getting up from her chair. "I am tired and I've got the most awful headache." She gathered up her books and made for the girls' dormitory, still surprised by Charlie's sympathy.

"Goodnight," she murmured, confused.

"Goodnight," he replied and went back to his Arithmancy homework. What a long day it had been.


	7. I Solemnly Swear That I am Up to No Good

**A/N. **My sincerest apologies for not updating this story in so long. Work and life have been hectic but this story is back on the road. Don't go anywhere!

**Chapter 7: I Solemnly Swear that I am Up to No Good**

* * *

On the next evening after her eventful detention, Alicia sat beside the fire with Angelina and her friends Bella, Hannah and Beth. Alicia had happily finished all her work for the evening and she was watching her friends slave away, with great pleasure.

"Stop looking so bloody delighted, Spinnet," grumbled Angelina, cracking her wrist and rubbing her ink-stained fingers.

"Do it today, or later you'll pay," sang Alicia in an irritating voice. "It's the best motto."

"Just because you've got that silly homework planner doesn't mean we all have to be organised freaks like you, Ali," moaned Bella with a great sigh.

Alicia just grinned.

"Hey Spinnet, can I talk to you for a minute?" A voice said from behind her.

Alicia turned to see Charlie Weasley standing behind her, a strange look on his face. Her friends blushed and giggled. She shot them a look and turned back to him.

"Ok," she said wearily and got up, following him to a quieter part of the Common Room.

"I'm worried about Fred and George," he said in a low voice, his blue eyes concerned.

She snorted. "You are?" she said disbelievingly.

He scowled briefly.

"Yes," he said a touch defensively. "They're my little brothers. And no one has seen them since yesterday. They didn't show up to lessons today."

Alicia frowned. "Well, I suppose you're right. Have you spoken to your brother?"

"I'm assuming you mean Bill, and not Percy. And no," he said, after a pause. "Not yet. I didn't want to worry him."

"More like, you didn't want to get Fred and George into unnecessary trouble," she teased. "What's that, your troublemaker's code?" she said with a smirk.

Charlie scowled again. "And what if it is? Come on, it's Fred and George we're talking about; they're bound to have got into some sort of trouble."

"Alright, alright. I'll help you look for them."

Charlie paused. Thoughts of his homework list plagued him for a moment. Then he nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

They headed out of the portrait hole ten minutes later.

"Where do we start then, captain?" Alicia said.

"I don't know, Miss Prissy," Charlie countered. "Where do _you_ think we should start? After all, you seem to have an answer to everything."

Alicia glowered at him and muttered something to herself. Charlie chuckled.

"Talking to yourself; second sign of madness," Charlie remarked.

"It's the first sign, idiot," Alicia retorted.

"No, no the first sign of madness is having a _homework planner_," Charlie said, with a snort.

"How do you even-" Alicia began. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Then remembrance dawned on her. "Did no one ever teach you that eavesdropping is rude?" she spluttered crossly.

Charlie just watched her in amusement.

"Oh, just go and-" she muttered and stalked off down the corridor.

"Where are you going, Spinnet?" Charlie called after her. Alicia felt a distinct feeling of deja-vu.

She ignored him and walked away from him, quickening her step.

"Do wait for me, won't you?" Charlie called, laughter clearly in his voice.

"No," came her ill-tempered reply.

But he simply lengthened his stride and fell into step with her easily. She looked at him crossly. Damn his stupid long legs. He only had to take one step for every two of hers. She scowled.

"Ah there's that beautiful scowl again," he remarked. Her glare deepened.

But she stopped frowning when they reached the Hospital Wing on the third floor.

"What's your theory, Mr Know-it-all?" Alicia said, turning to Charlie who was standing beside her, a frown of thought on his face.

"Well, I'd say they ran off after their prank and hid somewhere nearby. It's Fred and George, so they're going to want to hear the result of their little trick, but they pride themselves on rarely getting caught. In which case, they will have hidden somewhere near here. A cupboard...or something."

Alicia couldn't help but look a little admiring. "Impressed?" Charlie smirked.

Alicia quickly covered it up. "No," she said crossly. "Anyone could have figured _that_ out."

And she began to walk along the corridor, looking for signs of a place to hide.

"Ok, well perhaps not this corridor then," Charlie said, as she returned. "But there's a corridor leading off this one. Maybe they went down there."

Alicia followed him through the even narrower corridor that led off the main one.

"Somewhere along here?" Alicia said doubtfully, looking up and down the tiny corridor.

Charlie sighed. "Maybe not."

He stepped into the narrow corridor and sat down, with his back against the wall. "Perhaps they're not here after all."

Alicia sat down beside him. "Not giving up, are we?" Alicia asked infuriatingly. "Not so soon?"

Charlie said nothing and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

But suddenly there was a faint sound nearby. The sound of banging and muffled cries.

They both jumped to their feet simultaneously and looked at each other in shock.

"What on earth is that?" Alicia exclaimed.

"It's coming from down here."

Charlie walked warily down the corridor towards an old faded tapestry that hung on the wall at the end of the corridor.

Alicia looked at it in fright and clutched Charlie's arm as there was another bout of banging.

Charlie reached forward and pulled back the tapestry to reveal a battered wooden door which was shaking and reverberating.

Now they were closer, they could hear the muffled cries more clearly. And they could distinctly hear the plaintive voices of Fred and George.


	8. Memory

**Chapter 8: Memory**

* * *

"Quick, open the door!" Alicia exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

Charlie pulled at the rusted door handle that did not look like it had been used for years.

"It's locked," he said.

"I don't think Alohamora will work this time, champ," he said, grinning as Alicia pulled out her wand and began to say the spell. "They would have already tried that one, wouldn't they?"

Alicia frowned. "Well, how about…" She thought hard.

Then she called to the two behind the door. "Stand back, will you?"

Charlie looked at her warily. "What are you going to-"

"Reducto!" she said and the door blasted into pieces before their eyes. Charlie was shocked for a moment. Then he grinned.

"Impressive," he said. "Most first years don't even know about that spell. Have you read _all_ your books cover-to-cover?" he teased.

Alicia ignored him and rushed forward, shielding her eyes from the dust of the broken mess outside.

"Fred? George?" she called, peering into the darkness. There was silence.

"Do you think you've killed them?" Charlie whispered from behind her. Alicia rolled her eyes.

"Bloody hell!" came a voice right beside her ear. Alicia jumped violently, as a hand came over her mouth.

"Mmmrrrpph," she mumbled, through the hand.

"What's that, love? Sorry, you'll have to enunciate. We can't hear you."

"It means 'get the hell off me, you moron!'" Alicia grumbled, smacking away the hand.

"Feisty one, this one, isn't she?"

Alicia heard Charlie chuckle behind her.

"I believe we owe you two our thanks," Fred said, coming forward out of the gloom.

"Again," George added, from beside Alicia.

"I don't know what you two would do without us," Charlie said reprovingly.

"Oh, all kinds of terrible things, I should think," remarked Fred airily.

"Yes, and we'd get into all kinds of trouble," George added. Alicia could hear the smirk in his voice and she hit him on the arm.

"Ow," whined George, rubbing his arm. "I think we'd better get out of the firing line, before someone gets seriously hurt."

"Yeah, good plan," Fred agreed. "I mean, she nearly tried to kill us with that blasting the door down."

"So unnecessary," added George.

Alicia ignored them, grabbed George by the arm and yanked him outside.

"So, what happened to you two this time?" she asked, her hands firmly planted on her hips and a disapproving look on her face.

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Fred asked George and Charlie, with a grin.

"Of course," Charlie replied with humour in his voice. "She's the spitting image of McGonagall."

Fred and George laughed. "I was going to say she reminded me of Mum, but yours is _so_ much better."

Alicia glowered at the three of them.

"Come on you two. Be serious," Alicia said.

Fred looked at her in surprise. "Us? Serious? That's like asking Errol to _actually_ deliver the post."

"Or asking Percy to stop being a pretentious git," added George.

Alicia gave them a look and they put on the best straight faces they could muster.

"We know it was you who set off the fireworks, so you may as well confess everything. Including how you managed to idiotically get yourselves trapped in a cupboard."

Fred and George looked affronted.

"Nothing we do is ever idiotic, my dear girl. We are Fred and George," Fred said indignantly.

"Enough said," Alicia muttered. Charlie snorted.

Fred glared at him. "If you must know, I can't remember."

Alicia just looked at him.

"What?" he exclaimed. "We really can't, can we George?" Fred looked to his twin for support.

"Nah, I'm being serious Ali. We can't remember anything after the fireworks escapade. We ran off down here to stop McGonagall…or _Snape_ from finding us and then we were stuck in this cupboard."

Charlie frowned at this. "But surely you must remember how you got stuck?"

"No, that's what funny. We don't even remember finding this cupboard."

Alicia looked at them closely.

"It seems like a Memory Charm to me," she said. "Why else would you not be able to remember what happened?"

* * *

Two days later Alicia was sitting in the deserted library, working on her potions essay when a funny thought came to her.

"What was a person doing down that little corridor when everyone else was at dinner?" she wondered aloud.

"Talking to yourself again, Spinnet?" came a voice behind her, making her jump violently and press a hand to her heart. She whirled round to see Charlie smirking at her.

"Scared?" he said with a knowing grin. She glowered at him.

"Scared of what?" she challenged.

He just raised his eyebrows and his smirk widened. She scowled and turned back to her essay.

"That's a first-class scowl you've got there, Spinnet," he noted, coming to sit down beside her.

"What do you want, Weasley?" she asked, with an exasperated sigh.

"Patience is a virtue, Spinnet," Charlie said in a singsong voice. She gritted her teeth and turned to look at him.

"Is there something you wanted? Because this essay is due tomorrow, and, as much fun as it is to sit here and listen to your nonsense, I don't really have the time," and she turned back to her essay, scratching out a few sentences firmly with her quill.

Charlie just chuckled, an amused look on his face.

"My patience is waning, Weasley," she warned. "What is it?"

Charlie grinned at her. "Well, as much fun as it is to just sit here and _annoy you_, there was something I wanted actually."

"Oh yes?" she asked, not looking away from her essay.

"I wondered if you would come and visit Hagrid with me."

She frowned and put down her quill momentarily. But she didn't turn to him, she simply rifled through her books and opened one of them on the correct page and began scanning through the notes with her finger. "And why is that?"

"Because he wants to meet you," Charlie replied simply.

At this point, she did turn and look at him in surprise. "He wants to meet me?" she asked.

"Yes Spinnet. That _is_ what I said," Charlie replied.

"But why?" She was confused.

"Fred and George told him about you. He wants to meet you," Charlie told her.

She looked at him with a hint of suspicion. "Why couldn't Fred or George have told me?"

"Look, I'm not going to kidnap you or something, Spinnet, if that's what you think," Charlie said, exasperated.

She glared at him. "Well, forgive me for suspecting this to be one of your silly childish pranks," she retorted.

Charlie simply grinned. "So are you coming or not?"

She sighed. "Oh, alright then. I suppose half an hour couldn't hurt." And she packed up her things in her bag and stood up.

* * *

"Ok, so he's half-giant, so don't be scared or anything. I know how you are," Charlie teased her, as they walked down the steps towards Hagrid's hut.

Alicia ground her teeth. "I _have_ seen him before, you know," she said crossly. "You know, first years, boats across the lake?"

"Ah yes, I had forgotten. It was so long since I was a puny little first year," Charlie said airily.

"Two years, Weasley, two years," Alicia said, rolling her eyes.

Charlie grinned.

"Don't you ever stop grinning, Weasley? You're like the bloody Cheshire cat," grumbled Alicia, irritated.

"What's that?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Oh never mind. We're here anyway," Alicia replied, as they reached the wooden hut, the chimney of which was smoking welcomingly.

Charlie stepped forward and knocked three times on the door. A few moments later, it swung open to reveal the huge friendly face of Rubeus Hagrid, beard and all, grinning down at them.

"Well, hello there," he said, with a great smile. "You must be Alicia. I've heard all sorts about you. Come in, come in," he ushered them into his hut.

And Alicia followed Charlie into the hut, with just a twinge of apprehension.

* * *

**A/N. **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are much appreciated…


	9. Suspicious

**Chapter 9: Suspicious**

**

* * *

**

"Where have you been all afternoon?" Angelina asked, as Alicia flumped down next to her at dinner and started piling things onto her plate. "I went to the library to find you; we were playing a game of mini Quidditch on the lawn and wondered if you wanted to play; but you weren't there. Madam Pince said you'd left with 'one of those nasty red-headed boys' to quote her exact words. She also added something rather rude which I won't repeat…"

Alicia sat back and let Angelina babble away, to give her time to eat before she was bombarded with questions.

"So, where have you been?" Angelina repeated at last.

"I went to visit Hagrid," Alicia replied, chomping away.

"Hagrid? Isn't that the gamekeeper?" Angelina asked, her voice full of curiosity.

"Yes, that's him."

"Well," prompted Angelina.

"Well, what?"

"I mean, well why?" Angelina said impatiently.

"He wanted to meet me. He's good friends with Fred and George and apparently they've told him all about me. He's really nice and he told me that he saw me flying the other day, and he said I was very good." Alicia grinned as she remembered.

Angelina smiled at this. "I can't wait till next year; we're going to be the first two to try-outs, aren't we?" she said eagerly.

"Of course," Alicia replied, her face lit up as it always was when talking about Quidditch.

"But, what I really want to know is which Weasley you were with. And don't tell it was Fred or George because they were playing Quidditch with me," Angelina said.

Alicia looked at her and saw she had her fierce face on; the one where you knew you couldn't mess with her, or try and avoid answering her questions.

"Charlie," Alicia replied non-commitally, shovelling food into her mouth.

Angelina gave a little grin.

"Oh shut up, Ange," Alicia said.

"I didn't say a thing," she protested innocently, but she grinned again.

"If you must know, he's bloody annoying," Alicia said irritably. "Very rude and with an ego the size of a black hole. He's probably more the type that would enjoy _your _company."

Angelina looked put out and closed her mouth and didn't say anything further.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Alicia went to visit Hagrid regularly and she often took Angelina with her. They became very good friends, but they still didn't dare to tell him about the mouth jamming nature of his treacle fudge or the hardness of his rock cakes.

October was drawing to a close and Hagrid's pumpkins were flourishing.

"Erm, Hagrid?" Alicia said one afternoon after lessons, as she observed the pumpkins which were now the size of cartwheels. "What do you _use_ on your pumpkins?" She looked at them incredulously.

Hagrid looked guilty.

"Nothin'. Just your regular MaxiGro an' …" he trailed off as Alicia looked pointedly at his pink umbrella which was propped up by the door.

Hagrid went a little pink and looked sheepish. "You think too much, you do," he said accusingly. "One of these days, your big brain's gonna get yeh into trouble."

Alicia just grinned.

"Come on, you two. Make yehselves useful and give me a hand moving these pumpkins to the Great Hall. The Halloween feast is tomorra and it'll take me ages, as er…I can't use magic, now can I?"

Alicia and Angelina giggled and Hagrid's beetle black eyes twinkled.

They spent the next half hour moving the twenty enormous pumpkins into the great Hall. Students who were nearby, watched with excitement. Soon the courtyard outside the Entrance Hall was buzzing with happy voices discussing the Halloween feast.

"It's one of the best feasts there are," Hagrid told the two girls as they arranged the Great Hall's decorations with the help of Professor Flitwick and a couple of other students.

Alicia and Angelina returned to the Common Room early after dinner. They couldn't face much to eat after having spent most of the afternoon being plied with Hagrid's interesting looking sandwiches. They were chattering excitedly about the forthcoming day.

On their way back, as they walked along the corridor on the third floor, they heard a strange noise around the corner.

"What's that?" Angelina whispered. "I thought everyone was at dinner."

Alicia was seized by a faint feeling of suspicion. "Come on," she whispered back and stole along the corridor and peered around the corner.

As she did so, she saw door to the Trophy Room wide open. She crept forward, Angelina following close behind.

As she reached the door of the Trophy Room, she peered around the doorway cautiously. To her great surprise, she saw the figure of her Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Viridian, bent double moving around the room. He appeared to moving several cups from their shelves and placing them into a dusty grey cabinet in the corner of the room.

Alicia frowned in confusion and looked at Angelina questioningly. Angelina just shrugged back at her.

Ten minutes later they were sat down beside the roaring fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was still almost empty, as most of the school was at dinner.

"What was that?" Alicia wondered aloud. "What was he doing?"

Angelina looked unconcerned. "I don't know. But he's a professor, I'm sure he has some reason for whatever he was doing."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Alicia said. "I'm just very suspicious since the whole Fred and George thing."

Angelina nodded her agreement but seemed disinterested. She had already turned to her magazine.

* * *

"Miss Spinnet," a stern voice broke into her thoughts, "Miss Spinnet?"

Alicia jumped suddenly and looked up at the teacher. "Sorry, Professor, sorry. I just-"

Flitwick waved his hand for her to be silent. "Don't worry Miss Spinnet; I'm sure there was something important occupying your thoughts. I was simply wondering if you could demonstrate the Levitating Charm."

"Teacher's pet," Fred grumbled under his breath from beside Alicia. Alicia kicked him under the table and he gave a yelp of pain.

"The rest of the class seem to be having difficulties with this spell," Flitwick continued. He cleared his throat. "Yes, erm…if I remember last lesson's…er…_incident_."

Alicia grimaced as she remembered her trip to the Hospital Wing and she saw Warrington smirk at her from across the classroom.

She picked up her wand and pointed it at the feather lying on her desk.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said, giving her wand a flick. The feather slowly floated upwards.

"And _that_, class, is how you correctly perform the Levitating Charm. Thank you, Miss Spinnet," Flitwick said, clambering down from his pile of books. "Now, everybody else try again."

As they practised, Fred and George whispered to Alicia.

"So, any further theories on this memory charm idea?" George asked Alicia.

Alicia bit her lip. "Well, no," she said. She didn't mention her suspicious spotting of Professor Viridian in the Trophy Room.

"Halloween feast tonight," Fred said with a grin.

Alicia smirked. "Ooh food," she said dryly, looking at Fred and George.

They grinned back at her, identical grins of glee.

"You two eat far too much," Angelina remarked disapprovingly, waving her wand frustratedly at her feather which refused to levitate but simply burst into flames.

"Aguamenti," Alicia said waving her wand, and the flames extinguished, leaving behind a cloud of smoke which filled the classroom and made them all cough.

"Er, that's it, class," Flitwick said, clapping his hands briskly. "Class dismissed."

"But sir, the lesson isn't finished-" Alicia began but Flitwick waved her away dismissively.

"That was the bell, wasn't it, class?" Flitwick said casually.

Alicia opened her mouth to disagree but the rest of the class had already filed out, so she got up quickly and followed them out.

After third period, students were let off lessons for the afternoon.

Alicia, Angelina, Fred and George went outside to play a game of Quidditch; Alicia and Fred vs. Angelina and George, but the brooms they had to use were the school ones and started to judder and give out after half an hour, so they soon headed back to the Common Room, pink cheeked with freezing hands.

They soon warmed up by the fire and Fred and George started up a highly competitive game of wizard's chess, which Alicia and Angelina soon joined in.

At eight o'clock they headed down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. The Hall looked amazing; twenty enormous carved pumpkins were all around the Hall, the sky was enchanted to be a dark sky, dotted with stars with bats flying here and there, and the tables were laden with mountains of food.

Alicia stared around her in awe. She noticed that her fellow first years were just as amazed as she was. She nudged Angelina and pointed to the pumpkins they had helped to bring in.

"Don't they look like they're a bit bigger than they were when _we_ brought them in?" Alicia whispered to Angelina.

Angelina frowned and looked closer at them. "Yes," she agreed. They looked up at the teachers' table and they caught Hagrid's eye.

His eyes twinkled and they laughed.

The feast was a huge success and Alicia ate as much as she possibly could, ignoring Charlie's comment as he walked past: "Going for a world record there, Spinnet?"

Fred and George were still going strong when the first course disappeared.

"Hey!" Fred exclaimed indignantly as his chicken leg vanished into thin air, halfway to his lips.

But his look of dismay soon disappeared when the desserts appeared on the tables.

Alicia groaned. "I don't think I can manage another thing."

Fred and George simply made unintelligible noises of disagreement through their mouthfuls of treacle tart. Angelina was silent.

Alicia turned to look at her and saw her watching Fred and George, with a disgusted look on her face and a slight green tinge to her normally rosy face.

"I don't feel good," she said bluntly.

"Yeah, you don't look so good either, Ange," Alicia said, with concern.

"I think I'll just-" Angelina got up slowly from her seat.

"I think I'd better come with you," Alicia said, getting up too.

"No, no, you stay and enjoy the feast," Angelina insisted, waving her hand.

"I think we can safely say that the _enjoyment _of the feast has been well and truly wrecked, courtesy of these two pigs over here," Alicia said, half-disgusted half-amused.

And she hurriedly took Angelina out of the Great Hall and just managed to get her outside as she threw up violently. Alicia waited with her while she did so and patted her on the back reassuringly.

"Too much Firewhiskey?" came an amused voice and Alicia turned to see a pair of dark blue eyes glowing out of the darkness.

Alicia scowled when she saw who it was.

"Very funny, Weasley," she snapped irritably. "If you must know, it was watching those pigs you call your brothers, eat."

Charlie gave a snort of laughter.

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Alicia said with annoyance.

"Going to fetch something from the hut for Hagrid, but I see that maybe my assistance is needed_ here_ instead," he said with a smirk.

"No thank you," Alicia replied, turning back to Angelina who now appeared to be choking.

Charlie stepped forward. "Anapneo," he said effortlessly, pointing his wand. Angelina stopped choking at once and she stood up slowly, shaking.

"Are you alright?" Alicia said worriedly. "Here, I'll take you back to the Common Room. Everyone will have nearly finished eating soon, surely."

"Well, there's still the Halloween fireworks," Charlie pointed out but Alicia ignored him.

"Thanks for the help, Weasley," she said briskly and led Angelina inside.

* * *

Once she had settled Angelina down in her bed comfortably and made sure she was definitely alright, Alicia headed back downstairs.

Angelina had assured her that she was feeling much better; it was just a momentary thing, and she wouldn't have Alicia miss the fireworks at her first Halloween feast.

Alicia protested but Angelina was firm.

She hurried out of the Portrait Hole and suddenly collided with something very solid.

"Oomph!" she exclaimed, as she toppled to the floor. She suddenly realised that it was a person she'd run into and she sat up quickly, trying desperately to untangle herself from the person and stand up, while at the same time apologising profusely.

As she stood up, she caught a glimpse of her victim. A pair of dark blue eyes looked down at her, sparkling with amusement.

"Walk much, Spinnet?" Charlie Weasley chuckled, as he stood up and straightened his robes.

She stopped apologising when she saw who it was and glared at him.

"Yes, _thank_ you," she said stiffly, and she reached down to pick up her wand she'd dropped, muttering crossly under her breath as she did so.

Charlie caught a few phrases here and there.

"…an experiment in artificial stupidity…all the brains of a plastic _spoon_."

Charlie watched her in growing amusement.

"In a hurry?" he asked.

"Yes _actually_," she replied, huffily. "I'm going to see the fireworks."

Charlie grinned. "You'd better hurry then, they're nearly over and-"

She didn't wait for him to finish but hurried off down the staircase.

"Try not to crash into anyone else on your way," Charlie called after her, chuckling.

As she hurried down the steps from the fourth floor, she stopped suddenly. She heard voices in the distance coming slowly closer.

They sounded like the voices of Filch and Snape. Their voices were low and sounded, to the suspicious Alicia, secretive. So she slipped silently into the shadow of little niche in the wall and hid there as they walked closer.

"Maybe finally Dumbledore will do something about the nasty little monster," Filch was saying, his voice angry.

"Dumbledore has been known to make easy allowances. After all, he allowed all those Weasleys in," Snape said, with disdain.

Alicia ground her teeth silently.

"So what's Peeves done this time?" Snape sneered.

"Several of the trophies and medals in the Trophy Room are missing and it is clearly the work of that foul little poltergeist," Filch growled. "I won't deal with him any longer, I just…"

Their voices faded slowly away into the distance. Alicia frowned as she digested this new piece of information.

Suddenly the Clock, which was nearby, gave a great booming chime, telling her that it was eleven o'clock. Alicia jumped up and slipped out of her hiding place. She could hear the rest of the school, a great buzz, coming in through the doors by the Entrance Hall.

They would then disperse and head up to their respective Common Rooms.

She hurried down the steps until she could see the great crowd. She slipped into the crowd quickly, unseen and followed the rest of the school up the Grand Staircase.

It would not do to be found roaming the corridors alone when the rest of the school were outside, enjoying the fireworks.

As she entered the Common Room with her fellow Gryffindors, she was met by Angelina who had made her way downstairs.

"So, did you see them? Were they amazing?" Angelina's face was lit up. It took Alicia a moment to figure out what she was talking about. Then suddenly she remembered the fireworks.

"Oh yes, yes. The fireworks were amazing. Better than any I've ever seen," she lied. "Well, maybe not quite as good as Fred and George's," she admitted, sitting down by the fire and warming her hands.

Fred, upon hearing this, came over, slumped down by the fire beside her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "Thank you, my dear," he said, with a broad grin. "Even _you_ couldn't deny it. And if Alicia says it's true, then so it is."

Alicia laughed and then pushed Fred off. "You're heavy," she complained. "Exactly how much did you eat?"

Fred opened his mouth to tell her but she raised her hand and cut him off. "On second thoughts, don't tell me; I don't want to know," she said, grimacing.

At that moment, Charlie and Bill came over, carrying a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"Anyone for a taste of old Ogden's?" Bill asked, dropping down beside George, his blue eyes suspiciously bright.

Alicia looked disapproving but only pursed her lips. After all, he _was_ a prefect. She looked over at Charlie, who was watching her face with evident enjoyment, as though waiting for her to tell them off.

She scowled.

"I will," she said, looking at Charlie defiantly.

Bill looked at her in surprise. So did the other four.

"As long as you don't tell Mum I let a first year have Firewhiskey," he grinned.

"You let _us_ have some," Fred pointed out.

"Yeah let's not mention that," Bill said. "Don't think Mum'd be best pleased. Me being prefect and all."

Charlie handed the bottle to Alicia who took it gingerly.

Alicia hesitated, then tipped the bottle back, taking a hearty gulp. The fiery liquid burned her throat and she almost choked. But as the fiery blazing feeling in her throat disappeared, she felt a strange sense of euphoria. She took another swig and then handed the bottle back to Bill with a grin of giddy bliss, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining.

"Anyone else for a try?" Bill said, looking around at the group. "Perce?" he called, waving the bottle at Percy who was sitting in a chair nearby, reading a book.

Percy looked scandalised and got up immediately, heading for the Boy's dormitories.

"Ah come on, Perce!" Charlie called after him, laughing.

"It's Halloween," Fred added.

But Percy had disappeared up the stone staircase, their laughter echoing after him.

"That's Percy for you," George said, cracking a grin.

The others sat chatting and laughing, taking occasional swigs from the bottle of amber liquid. Outside the window, the sky was dark and silent and the moon had risen high in the sky. It sent a bright shaft of light flooding into the Common Room, casting an almost blinding white light about the room.

Alicia sat quietly for a while, feeling slightly light-headed as the Firewhiskey started to affect her brain.

"Think I'm going to turn in," she said finally, as the clock on the wall read half past one. "Night everyone."

"Night Alicia," Fred and George said. Bill nodded and flashed her a smile.

And as she turned to go up the stairs, she saw the same challenging glint in Charlie's eyes as he looked at her.

"Sweet dreams," he said quietly, with a smirk.

* * *

**A/N. **What did you think of this chapter? Next chapter will be up some time soon…in theory. I'm on it.

Thanks everyone for reading. It means a lot.

PS. I still wish more of you would review though. Lots of people have 'favourited' or 'story alerted' this story, and I would really love it if you reviewed. It only takes a minute and it's great to get comments from everyone who reads my stories, so I can hear what you think. Thanks.


	10. Rule Breaking

**Chapter 10: Rule Breaking**

* * *

Over the next few weeks, after Alicia's findings-out at Halloween, she became very suspicious of Professor Viridian and his secretive strange behaviour.

She began to quietly hang around the third floor corridor, in the hopes of viewing further unusual activity.

Three weeks passed and Alicia saw no sign of any funny behaviour around the third floor. She began to get bored of patrolling the corridors and wondered whether to give up the whole silly idea.

Perhaps what she had seen was completely explainable. Perhaps the business with Peeves was purely coincidental. And maybe Fred and George's supposed Memory Charm was something completely different.

She considered giving up, when one day, as she was on her way to the Owlery early one Saturday morning; she caught sight of Professor Viridian. At first, she thought that this was perfectly normal. Why shouldn't he be walking along the corridors in the morning?

But then she remembered how early it was…and something about the way he was furtively glancing around him and appeared to have something hidden under his cloak, struck a false note in her mind.

She quietly hurried along after him, being careful to remain out of sight. What was this mysterious Professor up to?

Unsurprisingly he was heading for the Trophy Room on the third floor again. Alicia followed him as silently as she could. At one point, she forgot to look where she was going and crashed into an ornamental pot in the corridor, stubbing her toe painfully and cursing in a loud whisper. He looked as though he had heard something, because he whipped round suspiciously.

Alicia had just about managed to slip into a narrow corridor leading off the main one in time, heart pounding, and when she peered around the corner a few moments later, he appeared to have gone on without concern.

He reached the Trophy Room and, casting a spell; he opened the door and slipped in. Alicia moved forward and peered around the door cautiously.

He had moved to the end of the room and was carefully uncovering something in the corner of the room. It was the cabinet again.

Alicia frowned. What was that cabinet?

Then Viridian drew from underneath his cloak a large golden head which appeared to have once been part of a statue. In fact Alicia thought she recognised it as being part of statue that was placed in one of the seventh floor corridors. He also brought out some valuable looking astronomy equipment: some gold telescopes and something else that Alicia couldn't identify.

He placed all the items including two more solid silver trophies into the cabinet and locked the door. Then he unlocked it again and the cabinet was empty. He locked it again, seeming satisfied.

Alicia gasped as realisation hit her.

The teacher whirled around and saw Alicia standing in the doorway, looking guilty.

"Good morning, Miss Spinnet," Professor Viridian said, as nonchalantly as he could muster but seeming flustered.

Alicia went pink. "Um …good morning Professor," she stuttered. "I was just going to send a letter in the Owlery," here she waved her letter for confirmation, "and I heard a noise from here. I just thought I'd come and see who it was," she said hastily.

"Right, right," replied the professor, distractedly.

"Well, I'd better go," Alicia mumbled, taking a step backwards. She turned hurriedly and began to walk away down the corridor, her cheeks flaming.

What she didn't see was Professor Viridian peer out along the corridor after her. She didn't see him take out his wand, point it at her and utter a spell. But someone else did.

* * *

The day before Alicia's early morning walk and newest discovery, Bill was talking to Charlie at dinner.

"It's funny," he began, "I keep seeing Alicia hanging around on the third floor when I'm doing my patrolling duties."

Charlie looked up from his meal in mild interest.

"It's strange because I've seen her there for the second week running," Bill continued.

Charlie took a sip of pumpkin juice and listened as Bill explained.

"Any ideas?" Bill asked when he'd finished.

"Er, no can't say I have," Charlie lied. In truth, the first thing that had sprung to mind was the remembrance of finding Fred and George trapped in a cupboard on the third floor, with their memories seemingly erased from a certain point. "No, no idea," he said.

Bill looked unconcerned and changed the subject. But as he was talking, Charlie's mind was turning over possible theories. By the end of the meal, his mind was made up. Alicia was up to something. And he was going to find out what it was.

* * *

Alicia rounded the corner quickly, her heart thumping. She hoped she had managed to conceal her real motives convincingly enough.

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She jumped violently and a voice said quick and low: "Did you see that?"

She had realised by this point that the owner of the hand and the voice was Charlie and she was scowling at him to let go of her arm.

But he simply repeated: "Did you see that?"

"See what?" she said irritably, her shock immediately forgotten.

"Professor Viridian just tried to hex you," Charlie said.

"What?" Now she was listening. "He what?"

"Yes," Charlie said, his voice still urgent. "I saw him do it, as you were walking away."

Alicia, however, looked unconvinced. "It's another one of your silly jokes, isn't it?" she said. "What are you even doing here, Weasley?" she said scathingly.

Charlie just shook his head dismissively. "No, no I'm serious. What did you see? What was he doing in the Trophy Room?"

Alicia's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why should I tell you?" she said.

"Because," Charlie said patiently. "Then I'll tell you what _I_ saw."

Alicia thought for a moment, then sighed.

And she told him her suspicions. All about seeing the professor's odd behaviour the first time. Then overhearing Filch talking to Snape about missing trophies. And finally about the cabinet.

All the time, Charlie listened carefully. When she was finished, he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"So?" Alicia looked at him expectantly.

"So, what?"

"What did _you_ see?" she asked impatiently.

"Ah, _now_ you're interested," Charlie said with a grin.

Alicia tapped her foot, a warning expression on her face.

Charlie hastily began to explain. "As you were walking away, I saw him take out his wand and point it at you and clearly say a spell. He appeared to say 'Obliviate' but the spell obviously missed you, as you can still remember everything."

Alicia frowned. "It rather seems like Memory Charms are his speciality. It _must_ have been him who erased Fred and George's memories the night of our detention. They must have caught him doing whatever he's doing and so he erased their memories and locked them a cupboard so he could get away….But what I don't understand, is what he's doing. What's that old cabinet?" Alicia pondered.

Charlie thought for a moment. "Well I suppose it must be some sort of vanishing cabinet, mustn't it? I mean, you clearly saw him put some things in, but when he opened it again, they were gone, weren't they?"

Alicia nodded, biting her lip. "I suppose you're right."

"I guess that he's putting these items into the Vanishing Cabinet which transports them somewhere else. Right? And he presumably sells them off otherwise he'd have no motive. And I'd reckon they're worth quite a bit," Charlie said.

"In which case," Alicia said slowly, "We're going to need to talk to Professor McGonagall."

* * *

"Are you quite sure of what you saw?" McGonagall said, with a clear air of impatience.

Alicia nodded earnestly. McGonagall's shrewd expression showed her scepticism plainly.

"Well, I have to say, I am not convinced. I do not think that it is anything to be worrying about. Professor Viridian is a highly respected professor and I would not suspect him for a moment. I suggest you two stop meddling in matters that don't concern you, and focus on your studies. Especially you, Mr Weasley. Some of your teachers tell me your grades are slipping below their normal exemplary record. Don't make it a habit. And as for you Miss Spinnet," She turned to Alicia. "Though your grades are of the highest standard, I suggest you spend more time on other more important matters than snooping around."

Her expression softened. "I'm told you are already a very good flier. Perhaps we shall see you make the team next year," she smiled.

Alicia, who before had been blushing with embarrassment, smiled meekly and nodded.

"Of course, Professor. Sorry to have wasted your time," Alicia replied, bowing her head.

Charlie apologised to McGonagall and they left the office in disappointment.

"Clearly," Charlie said. "We are going to have to take matters into our own hands."

Alicia looked at him sceptically. "What is_ that_ supposed to mean?" she scoffed.

Charlie just grinned. "It means," he said. "We're going to have to do things the Weasley way."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Alicia said, her voice incredulous and somewhat apprehensive. "Your plan is to convince _Peeves_ to steal the cabinet while Viridian is around, and drop it somewhere to make a commotion. Bring the teachers running and prove his guilt."

"Yep, pretty much," Charlie grinned. "Foolproof."

Alicia rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "Whatever," she sighed. "But how exactly are you planning on getting Peeves to do as you say? He never takes orders from students. He'll most likely drop the cabinet on _you_," Alicia pointed out. "Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing," she added under her breath.

Charlie looked amused. "I have ways and means," he said assuredly.

"It's not the bloody Weasley charm again, is it?" Alicia groaned.

Charlie laughed. "Something like it. But we're going to need to find the perfect time to do it. We'll just have to bide our time for now."

* * *

When Alicia woke on Christmas Eve Day, she was filled with excitement. She couldn't believe it was the end of her first term at Hogwarts, and more importantly she was spending Christmas at the castle with Angelina, whose parents had gone away for a few months to visit some relatives.

Fred and George were, to her disappointment, going home to the Burrow for Christmas, but they had promised to write every day.

"Wow, that's quite a commitment. Ten sickles you won't follow through on that one," Alicia had said.

Fred had looked offended but grabbed her hand all the same and shook it violently. "You're on."

"Betting again, dear brother? You sure that's wise?" Charlie had said, coming over to join them.

Fred chuckled and gave Charlie a shove. "I'm not giving you those sickles. It wasn't a fair bet."

Charlie had grinned and started packing some of his things into his bag.

"So we, that is, George and I, solemnly promise to send you a letter every day plus, of course, your amazing Christmas present," Fred said.

"And I'll send you a garden gnome," Charlie had put in, with a smirk.

Alicia gave him a look. "Har har," she said sarcastically, but secretly thought it would be a rather interesting gift. She'd never seen a garden gnome before, being new to most things in the wizarding world.

So, she was surprised and half-pleased when she heard the news that the Weasleys would be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas after all, as their brother Ron was very sick and they were all in quarantine.

As they all sat down to breakfast together on Christmas Eve day, there were few students left. Alicia noted that her, Angelina and the Weasleys were the only Gryffindors left for Christmas, a few Hufflepuffs, a few more Ravenclaws and only a handful of Slytherin.

They spent the morning at Hagrid's where they had a raucous discussion about house elves. Well, everyone else had a good-natured debate. Charlie and Alicia had a full-out argument.

They were still arguing (about something completely different by this point) when they all headed back up to the castle with Hagrid for lunch. Angelina had to sit between them at lunch to prevent them from giving up talking and hexing each other.

In the afternoon they all walked down to Hogsmeade together. This was the first time that Angelina and Alicia had been to Hogsmeade as first years were not allowed to visit it during the school term.

Alicia had, of course, already seen parts of it when she had come to rescue Fred and George but that had been by night and Hogsmeade was so different during the day, covered in a blanket of crisp snow.

They finally headed back up to the castle in the late afternoon, cheerfully warm from a bottle of Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, laden down with boxes of last minute Christmas shopping and sweets from Honeydukes.

That evening, they all had a great time with the Common Room all to themselves, so they played many games of Wizard Chess and Exploding Snap. Only, Charlie had cleverly enchanted his pack of Exploding Snap cards so that the game became Exploding "Snape". The game involved much laughter and glee.

That night, they all went to bed in high spirits, eagerly awaiting the next day.

* * *

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Alicia leapt out of bed and flung open the curtains of their dorm window.

Angelina groaned as the bright sun flooded in. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and rolled over, pulling her covers over her head.

Alicia simply bounded over to her bed and ripped the covers off. Angelina shied away from the cold and curled up in a ball.

Alicia grinned. "Not a morning person, I take it?"

Angelina rolled over, an extremely disgruntled look on her face. "I _am _a morning person, just not a crack of bloody dawn person!" And with that, she promptly rolled over and fell asleep again.

"Well that's no fun," Alicia said aloud grumpily. Then her face lit up. "But there's always the boys."

"Rise and shine!" Alicia shouted, stomping into the dormitory that the Weasleys were sharing for the holidays, and flinging the curtains open.

Three pairs of eyes looked up at her in a particularly displeased fashion.

"Merry Christmas!" she cried chirpily to Fred, George and Bill, who were now sitting up, rubbing their sleepy eyes. "What a beautiful day it is!" she said loudly. "And look! It's been snowi-"

She was cut off and her voice was muffled as she was hit full in the face with a pillow.

"Hey!" she cried indignantly, scrabbling to pull the pillow from her face.

"Thank you Charlie," the other three muttered gratefully and went back to sleep.

Alicia sighed. Whatever happened to the morning people of the world?

* * *

Three hours later, the four boys and Angelina came down the stairs, still in pyjamas, but looking a little more refreshed. They were carrying their piles of presents which had been left at the foot of their beds.

"We're here, Alicia!" Angelina called as they came down the steps. "We can open our presents now."

The five of them rounded the corner and came into the Common Room, to find Alicia fast asleep on the sofa.

The boys chuckled with laughter and Angelina giggled. She went over to Alicia and gradually shook her awake.

"Rise and shine, _morning person_," she said.

Alicia yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Whhhatt?" she said sleepily, opening her eyes fully to see five faces peering down at her, smirks written on all of them.

She looked sheepish. "Must have just nodded off for a moment there," she hedged.

Angelina looked disbelieving. "Alicia, you were snoring," she remarked.

"I was not!" Alicia retorted, outraged. "I was just…"

"Breathing loudly?" Charlie offered helpfully.

She glared at him. "No," she said. "I-"

Angelina interrupted her. "Come on, let's open some presents."

They spent an hour opening their presents with great delight. Rather, the girls spent an hour opening their presents joyfully while the boys opened one of the presents to find that Charlie had been sent a new broomstick by his godmother, which they immediately rushed outside to test out, still clad in pyjamas.

"_They're_ going to be cold," Alicia remarked.

Angelina just shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, the things boys do for love," she said. "Of Quidditch," she added, with a grin. "You opened everything yet?" she asked.

Alicia cast her eyes around her at her enormous pile of presents and wrappings. She was extremely pleased with her haul: a pair of cosy bed socks and a large volume of wizarding stories from Angelina, a Sneakoscope and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from George, a new telescope from Fred, which he explained was to replace the one he had "accidentally" thrown in the lake, along with an enormous carton of Chocolate Frogs, a beautiful white knitted sweater and a box of mince pies from Mrs Weasley whom she had not yet met but had written that she very much wanted to meet Fred and George's wonderful new friend who was trying so hard to keep them out of trouble. She also received a tin of dubious looking treacle from Hagrid, along with a lovely carved wooden pendant. Her room mates had sent her various assorted sweets.

As she and Angelina were clearing away the wrappings, Angelina found something else.

"Here Alicia," she said, chucking over a small wrapped parcel. "This one's for you too."

Alicia took it curiously and began to unwrap it slowly. She pulled off the string and out fell a little silver charm bracelet. There was one charm already hanging off it. Alicia looked closely at it. It was a little silver figure of a garden gnome. She gave a sudden grin as she realised who it was from and she grabbed the note that had accompanied it which she had previously overlooked, which lay in the wrappings. It read:

_Spinnet,_

_Apologies for the failure of a real garden gnome as I promised. Thought this might be a suitable replacement? _

_Weasley._

She gave a chuckle and Angelina looked over at her curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, it's nothing much," Alicia replied, putting the bracelet on and slipping it underneath her new white jumper.

Half an hour later, the boys returned, pink cheeked and breathless from their broom-testing, and they went upstairs to change.

Then they went down to breakfast, much later than usual.

"I'll catch you up," called Charlie from their dormitory, wanting to make sure his new broom was securely locked up.

He locked it safely away in his trunk and that was when he caught sight of a large blue package lying at the foot of his bed, unseen as it was slightly pushed underneath the bed.

He bent down and picked it up. It was heavy in his hands and looked like a book.

He carefully unwrapped it to reveal a large book of some sort. He turned it over in his hands and saw, to his surprise and astonishment, that it was a homework planner.

He looked at it incredulously for a moment, wondering who on earth could have sent him something like that.

"Don't leave it till later, you big second-rater!" the book shrilly commanded, as he opened it tentatively. Charlie gave a start and dropped the book hastily, conveniently underneath a pile of Quidditch robes.

Then he gave a sudden grin and he read through the note that accompanied it to confirm the sender.

_Weasley,_

_I seem to remember you begging me to buy you one of my fabulous homework planners for Christmas, and I always keep my word. Maybe this book will stop your grades slipping so dreadfully…_

_Use it well._

_You-know-who (well, not __**him**__)_

He gave a chuckle and headed down to breakfast, the grin still on his face.

Christmas Day was a cheerful affair; full of laughter, joking and delicious food. There was a general air of goodwill throughout the whole day. Even Charlie and Alicia weren't in the mood for bickering.


	11. Peeves the Poltergeist

_Apologies for the delay. Here's the next chapter…_

**Chapter 11: Peeves the Poltergeist**

* * *

And so January passed, with cold winds and torrents of snow. And then passed February, colder still, and the only refuge was by the roasting fires in the Common Rooms, and the dungeons were almost unbearably chilling.

February turned to March, and spring finally arrived at Hogwarts. The air was still cold and crisp though, and the students still bundled up warm when they went down to watch the weekend Quidditch matches.

Slytherin were currently leading in points in the Quidditch Cup one way or another, but the other three teams were not far behind, and were certainly not to be beaten easily.

One afternoon late in April came an important match in the tournament: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Victory for Gryffindor would take them level on points with Slytherin, whilst defeat would mean that they dropped further behind, if Slytherin beat Hufflepuff the next weekend.

Tensions were running high and the Ravenclaw team were determined not to play Gryffindor any favours.

"This is a must win," Abbott said to his team fiercely, as they gathered in the tunnel minutes before the match was due to start. His eyes shone very bright as he gave his pep talk.

Charlie felt his heart thumping loudly and he swallowed nervously. It was not often that he felt nervous but a lot rested on this game.

"Now Weasley," Abbott turned to him. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it is crucial that you catch the Snitch as soon as possible. Ravenclaw have got their best Chasers out there, and we want to keep the damage to the minimum."

He turned to the Beaters. "You two, stop their Chasers by whatever means possible," Abbott said. "Without, of course, breaking the rules," he added hastily, when he saw their gleeful faces.

"Right," he said, at last. "We're up. Come on, team."

And they soared up out of the tunnel into the pale April sun.

* * *

The game was a tense one but Gryffindor managed to scrape a win, although being 50-10 down, Charlie managed to grab the Snitch from underneath the nose of the Ravenclaw Seeker, half an hour into the game.

The Gryffindor team headed back to the Common Room, happy and triumphant, ready to celebrate another win with their fellow Gryffindors.

The party was a joyful one and everyone was there.

Everyone except Alicia, Charlie noticed. "Probably studying, or with her nose buried in some library book," Charlie thought to himself, his corners of his mouth tilting upwards in an uncontrollable smile.

And at that moment, a voice suddenly hissed in his ear.

"Charlie!"

He turned to see Alicia with a serious look on her face.

"Viridian is in the trophy room. I think now is the time," she whispered urgently.

Charlie leapt up wordlessly and quickly followed her out of the Common Room.

"Where's Peeves?" he asked, as they stood out in the quiet corridor outside the Fat Lady.

"I saw him floating around in a classroom on the second floor," Alicia replied.

"Let's go," Charlie said, and they hurried off.

They soon found the classroom, and Peeves was still there, happily smashing ink bottles and throwing quills around.

"I thought everything was locked up when no one was here," Charlie hissed. "To stop Peeves doing...well, this" he said. "Come on," he whispered and they entered the classroom.

Peeves immediately looked up in surprise and displeasure. Then he cackled.

"Oooh an ickle firstie," he grinned, zooming towards Alicia, ink bottles raised.

"No!" shouted Charlie, waving his hands. "Stop it. We've come to ask you something."

Peeves halted in mid-air and swivelled to look at Charlie, in surprise.

"We have a favour to ask," Charlie said, looking intently at the hovering poltergeist.

Peeves frowned. "And why should I do you a favour, Weasel?" he asked, warningly raising his ink bottles again.

"_Because_," said Charlie hastily. "This particular favour will drive Filch mad."

Alicia grinned as she saw Peeves' face light up. If there was one thing Peeves loved, it was to aggravate Filch within an inch of his life.

"What do I do?" Peeves asked, rubbing his hands in glee.

"Come on," said Charlie. "We'll show you."

And with that, he turned and hurried out of the classroom, Alicia following and Peeves zooming after them.

* * *

Professor Flitwick was sitting quietly in the Charms classroom working on some papers after the Quidditch match, when he heard a colossal bang. He leapt up in shock and immediately rushed outside to see what on earth it was.

He hurried around the corner and a peculiar sight met his eyes. The door of the Trophy Room was wide open and so was the door to the armour gallery opposite it. Peeves was zooming about the corridor in great glee. Flitwick arrived just in time to see Mrs Norris whip around the corridor, evidently hurrying to fetch Filch. Suddenly Professor Viridian tore out of the Trophy Room, clutching a great gold medallion Flitwick was sure belonged to Professor Trelawney's valuable collection of goblin jewellery, and a big silver cup. He did not see Flitwick standing silently at the end of the corridor, he only saw Peeves floating in evident triumph above his head.

"Peeves!" Viridian roared, his eyes bulging out of his head and a look of complete and utter rage etched across his face which was turning rapidly purple. He raised a finger and pointed at the armour gallery. "What on earth did you do that for? That cabinet's important!" he yelled.

Flitwick peered closer and saw that a large old cabinet had clearly been thrown into the doorway of the armour gallery, where several large suits of armour had once stood.

At that moment, several teachers came hurrying around the corner, Filch and McGonagall included.

"What on earth is going on?" McGonagall yelled, as Charlie shouted: "Expelliarmus!" And Viridian's wand flew into his hand.

Professor Viridian for the first time wheeled around and saw the four teachers and Charlie and Alicia, staring at the mess and the seething teacher.

He hastily began to explain, looking furiously at Charlie who now held his wand. "Peeves here," he began, breathing heavily and trying to speak as calmly as he could. "Just threw this cabinet into the armoury for no reason at all."

"Actually," Alicia piped up bravely. "There was a reason."

McGonagall looked down at her incredulously. "Oh yes?" she asked.

"Yes, we asked Peeves to throw this cabinet, which we believe Professor Viridian here to be using to steal many valuable pieces of school property, into the armour gallery to cause a scene and prove Professor Viridian's guilt."

She looked a little sheepish after her outburst and she shut her mouth quickly.

McGonagall looked astounded. She looked from Alicia to Viridian to Charlie and then back to the professor.

"Is this true?" she asked the professor.

At first he tried to deny it, but it soon became clear that it was a lost cause, as he realised that he was holding several items that showed his guiltiness.

Viridian finally confessed, as Charlie pointed his wand threateningly at his throat.

"Alright, alright Mr Weasley. That'll do," McGonagall said and Charlie lowered his wand reluctantly.

"He's only a third year," Snape remarked snidely, looking at the cowering teacher with scorn.

"Maybe, but he's got a hell of a hex on him," replied the teacher, still looking nervously at Charlie. "And he's the best student I've ever had."

Charlie smirked, looking rather self-satisfied and Alicia scowled to herself.

"Except perhaps her," the teacher added, pointing to Alicia.

Charlie immediately looked sulky. Alicia just smiled back at him sweetly.

* * *

**A/N. **Viridian has finally been caught red-handed! Well done Charlie and Alicia. I would love to hear what you thought! Next chapter up soon! xxx


	12. All's Well

**Chapter 12: All's Well That Ends Well**

* * *

Professor Viridian confessed to everything; attempting to steal and sell off many pieces of valuable Hogwarts artefacts, and erasing the memories of two students. Needless to say, he was fired immediately and put on trial before the Wizengamot.

He confessed to Dumbledore where he had hidden all the rest of the things; the connecting cabinet was located in Borgin and Burkes, an old dilapidated closed-down shop in Knockturn Alley. They quickly found all the pieces hidden there, that Viridian had arranged in the spare times when he could go down to Hogsmeade and apparate from there.

However there was one piece missing. They drilled Viridian and even gave him Veritaserum to make sure he was telling the truth.

"Oh, I could never find that one," the professor said. "Must have been that dratted poltergeist."

"PEEVES!" Filch roared, his face going purple.

Alicia and Charlie were the only people who knew about the cabinets, besides the teachers, and the cabinet was safely put back in the Trophy Room and hidden safely. They were asked to remain silent about the cabinet by Dumbledore, simply because it could be used for idiotic things if it was discovered by students. It was soon forgotten.

And Professor Viridian came back one day late in June, as exams were finishing. And it was not a day he ever forgot.

He had hoped to sneak back into Hogwarts to collect his belongings secretly, whilst all the school were otherwise preoccupied.

He was, however, not so lucky.

"Professor Viridian! How spiffing to see you! So nice of you to drop in!" The loud voices of Fred and George Weasley greeted Viridian as he snuck down the stairs into the Entrance Hall, laden down with bags, his trunks hovering beside him.

"But surely you're not leaving?" George asked, feigning innocence. "Not so soon?"

Viridian looked uncomfortable, as if he knew where this was leading.

"And don't you want to say goodbye? To the whole school in person?" Fred asked, just as 'innocently'.

"No, no I…er..think I'll just-" Viridian muttered, hastily trying to head towards the door. But Fred and George blocked his way.

"Au contraire, we'd love to have a little 'leaving celebration' for you. For you to…go out with a bang, as it were," George said, the evil grin growing on his face.

Viridian looked worried. And with good cause. This was Fred and George.

And suddenly, as he was attempting to sidle past there, there was the most enormous bang. Then a sudden moment of silence and there was a great scraping sound, as if many benches were being pushed back in a hurry. And suddenly the great doors to the Great Hall opened and students began to swarm out to see what on earth was happening.

And they were not disappointed. An extraordinary sight met their eyes.

Professor Viridian, the disgraced and sentenced teacher, was sprinting down the lawn away from the castle, a great red firework in the shape of a dragon swooping after him. Fred and George Weasley ran after him, laughing in utmost glee.

"That's what you get for messing with a Weasley," Fred yelled, suddenly waving his wand high.

And Viridian's suitcases, bags and trunks proceeded to chase him from the castle, battering him over the head every now and then.

The students swarmed out onto the lawn, some giggling hysterically, some crying with laughter and all pointing and ridiculing the poor desperate professor who had reached the gates of the school and was hurriedly fleeing down the path towards Hogsmeade, his cloak flapping in disarray around him and his bags following, continuously rapping him over the head.

The students were in uproar. Even the teachers could not contain their laughter. And Alicia was sure she saw a hint of smile on Snape's lips. That's a first, she thought, dissolving into hysterical laughter again.

Well, you know what they say. Hell hath no fury like a Weasley scorned.

And so the Hogwarts Defence against the Dark Arts teacher curse upheld itself yet again. For the forty second year since Dumbledore had refused the post to a man named Tom Riddle…

* * *

**A/N. **End of first year… But don't go anywhere! Third Year on its way! Much more drama and excitement to come…


	13. Third Year: Return to Hogwarts

**Chapter 13- Third Year: Return to Hogwarts**

* * *

Second year had passed relatively uneventfully. Alicia, Angelina, Fred and George all made the Gryffindor Quidditch team that year, thanks to hours of hard practise. They continued with all their regular classes and Alicia upheld her high standard of work.

But she remained as stubborn and hot tempered as ever…

Throughout that year, Alicia, Angelina, Fred and George became closer than ever. So too did Alicia and Charlie…to everyone's great surprise.

Needless to say, Fred and George got themselves into many more scrapes and Alicia, always the loyal friend, attempted to get them out of trouble.

And so Third Year came as rather a shock to Alicia. Third Year brought the arrival of a mysterious newcomer…and the departure of a dear friend.

Third Year was to be the year that the famous Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts School. But it was also the year that one of her best friends left her.

"You're going where?" Alicia asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Er...Romania," Charlie replied, looking a little sheepish. "It's an internship…on a dragon reserve there. It's the most amazing opportunity."

Alicia tried to smile. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "Only six months," he said, giving her a reassuring look. "I'll be back a couple of months before my OWLS."

"When are you going to study for your exams, if you're off gallivanting with dragons all year?" Alicia tried to hide her pang of sadness.

"Don't worry," Charlie laughed, seeing her worried face, and interpreting it as her worrying about his studies, "There's a teacher there who will tutor me through all my subjects every day."

Alicia nodded dumbly and bit her lip.

"Come on Ali," Charlie said, gripping her by the shoulders and giving her a shake, none too gently, she noted somewhat tetchily. "This is a once in a life time opportunity! They only offer this internship to three students from all over the world!"

She nodded, the smile still not fully on her face.

"Look," said Charlie, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I know six months without me will be practically unbearable, but don't go too crazy, will you?" he said, a wide smirk spreading across his face.

She hit him.

But his face was still beaming. Nothing could deter his excitement. And she had to smile.

"Just go have fun," she grinned. "But don't neglect your studies," she warned. "Or you'll have me to answer to!"

Charlie gave a look of mock terror. "Yes miss," he said meekly. Then he smiled. "I'll be back before you know it."

Alicia grimaced.

"You're not actually…_happy_ that I'm going, are you?" Charlie said, looking a touch put out.

"Damn it, you saw right through me," Alicia grinned. "Have fun. And be careful. I don't want you to come back with half your face burned off," she said. "Not that it wouldn't be an improvement," she added, not-so-under her breath.

Charlie simply grinned and pulled her into a big bear hug. "Oooppph," Alicia let out. "God Charlie, you're squeezing the air out of me," she complained, struggling to free herself from his iron grip.

He chuckled and let her go. "Now, I have a little advice for _you_, young lady," he said, sternly. "No more getting yourself into trouble this year. I don't know how I put up with you and kept you out of trouble last year," Charlie said, grinning broadly.

He winced as he saw Alicia's face darkening.

"Watch out, Ange," he yelled as he sprinted past Angelina on the platform. "Mount Alicia, about to blow!"

Angelina just gave a snort of laughter and shook her head in bemusement.

* * *

"I've just had a horrible thought," Alicia said, as the four of them sat in their carriage on the Hogwarts Express. "We don't have a Seeker this year."

Angelina laughed. "You're more worried about Quidditch than Charlie, aren't you?" she laughed.

Alicia grinned sheepishly. "Don't you tell him. He'd be mortally offended for me to pick Quidditch over him. He seems to think some sort of light shines out of his-"

Angelina held up a hand. "I don't need to hear your vulgar language, Alicia," she said primly.

Alicia just gave snort, to which Angelina muttered something about 'unladylike'.

Alicia turned to Fred and George. "You two are suspiciously quiet. Not missing big brother, surely?" she smirked.

Fred looked insulted. "Do we _look_ like people who would be so pathetic?"

"Would it be too dangerous to say yes?" Alicia replied, with a smirk.

"I…you…," Fred growled. "If you must know, we're plotting a welcome back surprise."

"Ah I see. A sort of: 'We're back!' message," Alicia said, nodding in understanding.

"More like a _warning_," Angelina snorted. "This year is going to be so good," she smiled happily. "I can feel it."

"Ah yes," Alicia agreed. "Six months without Charlie. Always a bonus."

"You haven't lost your snarky ways I see, Alicia," Angelina remarked.

"Nope, not at all."

"Anyone seen Golden Boy?" Fred asked.

"Who?"

"You know…Diggory?" George prompted.

Alicia and Angelina giggled simultaneously.

Fred and George groaned. "Don't tell me you two are obsessed with him too," George grimaced.

The girls just laughed and nudged each other.

"Anyway, why are you looking for him?" Alicia asked.

Fred looked guilty. "No reason," he replied, a little too quickly.

"Whatever you two are plotting, stop it now," Alicia reprimanded. "Cedric's done nothing to you two. Leave him alone."

"Ah come on, Ali," George whined. "Just a little-"

Alicia held up her hand. "No. Just a little nothing," she said firmly.

"Protecting the stupid pretty boy…" Fred muttered crossly. "If he's so perfect, I'm sure he can take a joke..."

Alicia and Angelina just left them to it.

"So, have you seen Harry Potter yet?" Angelina asked Alicia, in hushed tones.

"We have!" Fred piped up.

"You have?" Alicia looked at them in surprise. "Where? When?"

"Didn't know you were so interested in Harry Potter," George observed. "Bit young for you, isn't he?"

"Shut up George," Alicia said, kicking him in the shin from across the carriage. "I'm curious, that's all. Everyone's talking about him, all along the carriages."

"Well, for your information, we met him on the platform, trying to get through the barrier. Seems nice. Bit shy though," George told the girls.

"Ginny's got a thing for him already, we can tell," Fred snorted.

* * *

"I always forget how good the Beginning of Year feast is," Alicia sighed happily, completely full.

Angelina nodded her agreement. "So, we've finally seen the famous Harry Potter. No surprises he's in Gryffindor."

"Unfortunately for him, I see he's already made friends with Ron. That will only lead him to disaster and ruin," Alicia remarked, pointing over to where the young raven haired boy with round glasses sat beside another young boy with flaming red hair.

Angelina chuckled. "We'll see how that one goes. Let's just hope he doesn't set his bed on fire again!"

They laughed as they remembered last summer at the Burrow, when Ron had tried to practise some spells before Hogwarts, and proceeded to set his bed alight.

The rest of the evening passed quickly and they were all very sleepy after the huge feast. Once they got back to the Common Room, they managed to snag the spot by the fire and the four of them sat together chatting and enjoying being back.

Alicia sighed heavily. Angelina looked at her in concern.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine," Alicia replied, but she didn't look completely happy.

"Missing Charlie?" Angelina said, with a smirk.

Alicia gave her a swat. "No," she said. "But…it just won't be the same without him here for a whole six months. Feels weird," she mumbled.

"I'd say, enjoy it while you can," Angelina chuckled and Alicia had to smile.

"And I'd say, that's some good advice, my friend," Alicia agreed. "Come on, let's get to bed."

* * *

The first few weeks of being back at Hogwarts passed slowly, as they got back into the routine of being back at school. Third Years had picked 2 new subjects this year and there were rather mixed opinions on their new choices.

"I love Arithmancy," Alicia said one day, as she and Angelina were sitting in the library working. "It's such a good subject. I can't believe they didn't let us do it before now."

Angelina smiled. "Glad _you're_ enjoying your new subjects," she said and nodded over to where Fred and George were sitting.

The two boys were sitting opposite each other at the table, taking it in turns to jab Fred's Divination textbook with their wands, burning holes in the pages.

"I hate Divination," Fred stated, burning a round hole in the moving photograph of Cassandra Vablatsky in Fred's copy of Unfogging the Future.

"I hate it more," George growled, stabbing the waving Seer in the eye with his wand.

And so it continued.

Alicia looked shocked. "What are they doing to that poor book?"

* * *

**A/N. **Third Year has started! This year should be interesting; six months without Charlie. What will Alicia do?

Oh, get into all sorts of trouble I should think…

Reviews please!


	14. The Halloween Troll

**Chapter 14: The Halloween Troll**

* * *

Alicia met Harry Potter for the first time after a couple of months. It was at Quidditch trials.

"Right everyone," Oliver Wood, a tall handsome fifth year was saying. "Just because you got on the team last year does not mean you will do so this year." He began to explain the format of the trial. Alicia and Angelina chuckled at the determined and organised look on his face as he went through the plan. They had seen him the next night before, slaving away over his Quidditch plays and ideas. Good old Oliver. He was so Quidditch-crazy.

Wood was ploughing on through his tirade, disregarding the fact that barely anybody was listening. Fred and George were too busy having a furiously whispered conversation which Alicia could only suspect was some mischief or other. A group of fourth year girls were giggling and whispering loudly about Oliver and his "gorgeous" Scottish accent. Then there was a group of three rowdy boys who looked suspiciously as though they were in Hufflepuff. Another group didn't appear to even have brooms.

Nevertheless Wood continued stolidly, ignoring these facts. "So we'll start with the Beater trials," he was saying. "Not that we really need them," he muttered under his breath, looking at Fred and George.

The Beater trials did not take long. After about ten minutes, Wood called them all down and dismissed the rest of the Gryffindors who had tried out, keeping only Fred and George. To be honest, the other candidates had all been dismal; some did not appear to even know how to fly and others how to hold a bat. After one boy had hit another in the eye with his bat as it flew out of his hand, Wood hastily moved onto the Chaser trials.

Alicia soared up into the sky, happy to be back on her broom again. The trials went well and Wood kept her, Angelina and a friendly second year named Katie Bell behind.

"Well that's it then," said Wood, smiling at his team. "All done. First practice is on Thursday evening. Out on the pitch at six o'clock. Don't be late."

"Hang on, captain," Alicia said, frowning. "We haven't got a Seeker."

To her great surprise, Wood broke into a brilliant smile. "On the contrary, I believe we do. May I introduce…Harry Potter."

A young black haired boy with a familiar looking lightning shaped scar on his forehead stepped out from behind Wood's solidly built frame. He was looking a little confused to say the least.

"McGonagall found him for me. Apparently he's brilliant. I'll be teaching him the rules and we'll have ourselves a classy Seeker in no time." He looked extremely pleased with himself.

Alicia just shook her head at Wood's crazy enthusiasm and greeted their new Seeker.

* * *

Halloween was approaching again fast. Alicia barely even noticed due to the inordinate amount of work the teachers were now piling on them. Third Year was certainly no barrel of laughs compared with the last two years.

Alicia groaned and pulled a cushion over her head in frustration, as she sat on her own in the empty Common Room late one night a few days before Halloween.

"Something troubling you?" came a voice suddenly. It sounded vaguely familiar. But it couldn't be. No, no, she was imagining things.

She turned and glanced around the Common Room but there was no one in sight.

"Over here," the voice came again softly. Alicia whirled round and peered over at where the voice appeared to be coming from. The fireplace.

Alicia frowned. How strange. But after all, this was Hogwarts. It never ceased to surprise her. She got up from the armchair and moved closer to the blazing fire cautiously.

Suddenly a head popped out of the flames. Alicia gave a little shriek and recoiled in fright and horror.

"Only me!" the voice said cheerfully.

"Charlie, you idiot! You nearly gave me a heart attack," Alicia exclaimed, sinking to the floor.

Charlie's face grinned from the fire. Alicia said in silence for a moment and waited for her heart to return to its normal rate.

"Well, if you've quite finished giving me the shock of my life, would you care to tell me what the hell you are doing?" Alicia said dryly.

Charlie gave a chuckle. "Talking to you, silly," he said patronisingly, shaking his head whose hair was even more fiery than usual.

Alicia scowled. "How are you doing that?"

"Never you mind," Charlie said, looking sheepish. "I just thought I'd pop in and have a look around the Common Room. I missed it, see."

Alicia smirked. "Homesick, are we?"

"Just a tad," Charlie said, giving a crooked grin. He looked strangely dashing, despite being a seemingly decapitated head floating about in the fire.

"So how's life chasing dragons?" Alicia asked, flicking bits of discarded paper into the fire.

"Yeah, not bad," Charlie said with a satisfied smile. "Limited schoolwork, getting to work with hundreds of exotic and dangerous-" he broke off, looking cautiously at Alicia.

She was, as he had correctly guessed, looking at him in half worry, half disapproval. "No, no, nothing _dangerous,_" he hastened, giving a too-loud tut. "As if they'd give us something dangerous to deal with at our age."

Alicia did not look convinced and she kept flicking the bits of paper.

Charlie looked slightly discomfited as several of the scrunched up pieces of paper hit him in the eye. Alicia giggled as he shook his head to dislodge a bit of paper that had settled on top of his head.

Suddenly there was the sound of loud footsteps approaching. A sudden look of panic flitted across Charlie's face.

"I don't suppose those footsteps are at your end, by any chance?" he asked.

Alicia shook her head. "No, stupid! Go! And don't get caught. What an idiot!" she said, shaking her head as she turned away.

"Hey!" came Charlie's indignant voice. "I heard that!" And then there was a 'pop' and when she looked back at the fireplace, Charlie's face had disappeared and there was nothing there to suggest that there had ever been a strangely dismembered head floating there only seconds before.

* * *

In the days leading up to Halloween, Wood coached Harry on the rules of Quidditch. Alicia often saw them out on the pitch, Wood tossing golf balls and Harry darting after them. He looked good. She would smile contentedly. The Quidditch Cup was theirs this season, she was sure of it.

She was sitting in the library one afternoon, working on a particularly nasty essay on the Befuddlement Draught that Snape had set them, when Harry came rushing in, pink faced and breathless.

"Alicia!" he said, with a gasp and plonking himself down beside her at the table. "Look what I got!" he yelled, waving something above his head. His face was red with excitement.

"Woah, woah slow down. What've you got there?" Alicia said, grinning at his excitement.

He placed the item he had been so excitedly waving on the table in front of her. Her mouth dropped open and she gasped, unable to say anything for a few moments.

"You…where did you…when…who?" she stuttered, in surprise and excitement.

"McGonagall," Harry said, face lit up with an enormous smile.

A grin slowly spread across Alicia's face as she surveyed the broom in front of her. "But it's a Nimbus 2000," she said in shock. "This is _amazing_. Well, have you told Wood?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, not yet. But I can't wait to see his face when I do."

"I wouldn't, if I were you," Alicia said, with a laugh. "He'll probably either steal it for himself or keel over in excitement."

Harry laughed. "Good point. Anyway I'd better go and lock it away in my trunk for now."

"Mmm good idea," Alicia agreed. "See you at training tomorrow morning. It's going to be a good one, I can't feel it," she said, with a wink. Then she gave a loud whoop of joy. "We're _so _going to the win the Cup this year!" she yelled aloud, causing many students from other houses to look round at her in annoyance.

Harry grinned and hurried out of the library as Madam Pince came swooping down on them, demanding to know what all the racket was.

* * *

Two days later, on the day of the Halloween feast, the whole school got a great shock. Alicia was just helping herself to some pumpkin pie when suddenly Professor Quirrell, the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, came bursting into the Great Hall, a look of pure terror on his face.

"Troll!" he cried. "Troll in the dungeons- thought you ought to know…" And he promptly keeled over in a dead faint.

There was mass fright and uproar and it was all Dumbledore could do to quieten everybody down and send them off to their dormitories.

Alicia hurried along behind Harry and Ron, and as she did so, she heard something strange.

"I've just thought- Hermione," Harry was saying.

"What about her?" said Ron stupidly as though he were too full of food.

Alicia listened carefully.

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron seemed to be thinking deeply. Then he said; "Oh alright, but Percy had better not see us."

Alicia gasped as they ducked away from the crowd and hurried off in the direction of the dungeons.

What on earth were they doing? There was a troll out there! she thought desperately.

She stood on the spot for a moment, debating whether to go after them or not. Then her adventurous Gryffindor side got the better of her and she hurried after them.

She sped down the corridor towards the girl's toilets. Skidding round the corner, a terrible stench filled her nostrils. She gagged and put her arm over her nose, her eyes starting to water.

She moved forward towards the open doorway of the girls' toilets from where shouts and thumps were coming.

As she came closer to the doorway, a horrible sight met her eyes. The troll, all twelve feet of it, enormous club raised was shuffling around the room, smashing all in its path. Alicia could see Harry and Ron desperately throwing anything they could lay their hands on at the huge troll. Her eyes quickly scanned the room and saw Hermione cowering against the wall, underneath the sinks.

And as she was watching, she saw Harry fling himself onto the troll's back. "What the hell is he doing?" Alicia whispered aloud, looking on in terror as the troll swung about, trying to shake Harry off while at the same time trying to hit him with the great club.

Alicia sprinted into the room and yelled to Ron. "We need to do something!" she shouted, as the troll finally succeeded and had grabbed Harry by his ankle and was promptly shaking him up and down like a salt shaker in his giant fist.

Ron looked at her in surprise and helplessness. Hermione looked as though she were about to faint.

"Stupefy!" Alicia screamed, pointing her wand at the troll. The spell hit the troll in the shoulder and seemed to have little or no effect. The troll stopped shaking Harry, who looked extremely dazed, for a few moments and turned to look at Alicia who was currently screaming bloody murder at it as loudly as she could muster.

"What can we do?" she shouted, looking hopelessly at Ron whose face had gone a rather pale grey colour which reminded Alicia nastily of the Bloody Baron. He did not seem in any fit state to offer any suggestions.

She raised her wand again and blasted all the spells she could think of at the troll but to no avail. The troll simply moved towards her, still holding Harry by the ankle and swung his great fist at her, knocking her to the ground with ease.

Her wand flew out of her hand and landed on the other side of the room. She lay crumpled on the floor, the breath knocked out of her momentarily.

She tried to inch forward on the floor to reach her wand but the troll shuffled forward, dropping Harry to the floor where he lay motionless in a crumpled heap, until its horrid flat feet were centimetres away from Alicia's face. She looked up in terror as a great meaty hand reached towards her and grabbed her round the middle. She suddenly felt herself being hoisted high into the air and she screamed and tried desperately to free herself from the troll's iron grip.

"Ron!" she screamed. "Do something!" She looked at him desperately.

Ron seemed to waver. Then a little colour flooded into his face and he raised his wand and uttered the only spell he could think of.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he yelled.

Alicia frowned. What on earth was he doing that spell for? How was that supposed to-

Then suddenly the troll's club spun out of its hand and raised itself above the troll's horrible bald coconut shaped head. Alicia watched, as time seemed to slow and the troll looked up stupidly as if trying to gauge what was about to happen. Then the club dropped onto its skull with a nasty crack. The troll swayed, as if in slow motion, and collapsed to the floor with a gigantic thud.

There was a moment of complete silence. Then the four of them breathed a huge sigh of relief. Harry and Hermione slowly got up and they all rushed over to help Alicia extricate herself from the troll's grip.

They brushed themselves off and watched the troll warily, when suddenly Professor McGonagall burst into the room, looking absolutely livid, Snape and Quirrell following closely behind.

For once in her life she was briefly speechless. Then she seemed to gather her strength and when she spoke, her voice was shrill and furious.

"What on _earth _do you four think you're doing?"

Alicia stood mutely wondering how they were going to talk themselves out of this. She could see the detention file now.

_Name: Alicia Spinnet _

_Crime: Trying to prevent mountain troll from killing self_

_Punishment: Be hung by ankles from Astronomy Tower._

Well, that would be Filch's dream punishment anyway.

She stood quietly as Hermione talked their way out of it while the boys just looked on incredulously.

"And you, Miss Spinnet?"

Alicia looked up at the sound of her name.

"Why weren't you in your dormitory? Honestly, I had really rather hoped that some time without Mr Weasley might allow you to have a break from rule breaking but apparently I was deceived."

Alicia looked sheepish.

"Well, I…" she began.

But McGonagall held up her hand. "You know what? I don't wish to hear it. Now, I suggest you four hurry up and go back to your Common Room where students are finishing the feast. Off you go, before I decide to take more points off."

The four of them hastily made for the door. "Oh, Miss Spinnet?" McGonagall called as they left the room.

Alicia turned.

"Do _try_ not to get into any more trouble," McGonagall said wistfully. "Though I suppose it is rather foolish of me to hope that some trouble won't _'find you'_, as you so often put it. With or _without_ Mr Weasley."

Alicia nodded and she couldn't help but give a grin. After all, it was true. Trouble simply seemed to seek her out.

"Yes Professor," she said meekly.

McGonagall gave a rare smile. "Now off you go. Quirinus, could you dispose of this…mess?" she said, turning to Professor Quirrell, as Alicia left the room.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting for her as she left. They all grinned at her.

"What?" she asked, wondering why they were all grinning at her stupidly.

"I believe a thank you is in order," said Harry, as they headed towards the Gryffindor Tower.

"No worries. I'd help anyone knock out a twelve mountain troll!" Alicia replied with a grin.

"Even, say, Marcus Flint?" Ron asked grinning, as he thought of the nasty six foot Slytherin Quidditch player.

"Now, now Ronald. Don't you forget; Flint _is_ a mountain troll," Alicia laughed.

The other three snorted with laughter.

"Anyway, it was a pleasure…er _working_ with you," Alicia said, smiling and linking her arm through Hermione's.

"And you," the other three said, smiling back.

There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.


	15. Quidditch

**Chapter 15: Quidditch**

* * *

The first Quidditch match of the new season soon approached and as November came, the weather grew extremely cold.

Saturday was Gryffindor's first match, against Slytherin, as was often the custom. And Saturday dawned, bright and cold.

Alicia and Angelina headed down to breakfast, kitted out in their Quidditch robes of scarlet and gold.

"What's wrong?" Alicia asked, plopping down beside Harry and taking a piece of toast. His face was tinged grey and he sat in his seat, not eating a thing nor saying a word.

"Nerves," Hermione explained, continuing to ply Harry with a piece of toast. He simply shook his head.

"Don't worry Harry. You'll be just fine. After all, you're our secret weapon," Alicia grinned, patting him reassuringly on the back.

Katie and Angelina added their support and a few moments later Wood strode into the hall, a cheerful look on his face.

Sitting down beside Katie, he looked around at his team.

"Are we ready team?" he asked, his face lit up with evident joy. "Harry, what's the matter?" he said, looking in surprise at Harry's nauseous expression.

"Nothing, there's nothing the matter," Alicia said firmly. "Harry's just fine, aren't you Harry?"

She looked comfortingly at Harry. He nodded dumbly.

"There we are," said Alicia cheerily. "Slytherin are dead meat."

Wood beamed.

* * *

"Hey Spinnet!" A voice called from behind her. Alicia turned to see Cedric Diggory striding across the courtyard towards her.

"Hi Cedric," she smiled.

"Good luck today," he said with a grin.

"Supporting Gryffindor?" she said, raising an eyebrow wryly.

He chuckled. "Of course. Any chance to see Slytherin go down."

"What do you want, pretty boy?" Fred said aggressively, coming over.

Cedric just chuckled in amusement at Fred's deepening scowl. "Nothing, nothing. I merely came to wish you luck."

Fred continued to glare at him.

"Don't mind him," Alicia assured the handsome Hufflepuff. "He's just…you know, Fred."

Cedric laughed.

"Just Fred? What do you mean just Fred? I…you-"

"Come on Fred," Alicia said, taking him by the arm and pulling him towards the Gryffindor changing rooms. "I'd better go," she said, smiling at Cedric. "See you Diggory."

Cedric winked at her and strode off towards the stands, hands thrust deep into his pockets. George watched his retreating back with a dark glare.

Alicia rolled her eyes and sat down beside Angelina, ready for their pre-match pep talk.

* * *

The match was a tense one, punctuated only by Lee Jordan's hilarious commentary. Alicia regularly found herself in fits of laughter and found it difficult to concentrate on getting the Quaffle.

But she soon sobered up when she saw Wood glaring at her from the goalposts.

The game progressed quickly, with Gryffindor scoring twice in the first ten minutes. Alicia put away a penalty half an hour into the game, after the Slytherin Seeker Higgs fouled Harry.

But after about forty minutes, something very strange happened. Harry's broom started to behave very oddly indeed.

It started to jerk around uncontrollably and countless times it threatened to throw him off it. Alicia flew up to try and help him but the broom jerked away every time anyone went near him.

Whispers and confusion swept through the crowd, and Flint grabbed the Quaffle from Katie Bell's hands and scored five times without anyone noticing; they were all too busy looking at Harry.

Alicia's eyes swept the crowd hurriedly. It must be Dark Magic of some kind. Nothing else could interfere with a broom like that. And then she saw it. Snape. His mouth was moving quickly as though he were muttering something and his eyes were very wide as he did so.

She couldn't think what to do. She couldn't just fly straight into the teacher's stand; she'd injure someone, or at least get a lifetime detention from McGonagall.

She hovered for a few moments, deliberating. Then she quickly zoomed over to where Hermione and Ron were sitting beside Hagrid.

"Hermione!" she called, hovering by the stand. Hermione's bushy head whipped up. "Snape!" she said urgently.

Hermione scanned the teacher's stand and nodded immediately. She leapt up and began to force her way through the crowd. Good old Hermione.

And moments later, Harry clambered back onto his broom, safe and unhurt, though a little shaken. Then suddenly Harry was speeding full pelt towards the ground.

"What's going on?" Angelina yelled to Alicia, who merely shook her head and shrugged.

Alicia looked down and saw Harry clap a hand to his mouth.

"Looks like he's going to be sick," Alicia said, to Angelina from where they were hovering on their brooms.

"No," said Angelina slowly. "No, look! It's the Snitch, he's got the Snitch!"

And sure enough, as she looked down, Alicia saw the familiar glint of gold as Harry coughed the tiny round ball into his palm.

There was a brief pause and then the stadium erupted into cheers, whilst the green and silver supporters groaned in disappointment and fury.


	16. Christmas Charms

**A/N. **Ok so I got impatient and decided to post this chapter too!

* * *

**Chapter 16: Christmas Charms**

* * *

Christmas was coming and one day in the middle of December, McGonagall came round making a list of the students who were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.

Alicia added her name to the list. She had gone home for Christmas the previous year but this year, she had decided to stay at Hogwarts. Angelina, however was going home. It looked like she'd be sharing the Common Room with Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Harry.

One afternoon she and George were walking along the corridor to Charms and they found a large fir tree blocking their path.

"Hey Hagrid," Alicia grinned, guessing correctly that Hagrid was the one shuffling and puffing behind it. "Need any help?"

Hagrid poked his face out from behind the huge tree but he never got a chance to answer because at that moment Malfoy came striding up behind Alicia and George, flanked by his usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's snide voice. "I need to get away from this corridor; there's a horrible smell. Oh, it must be the Mudblood," he said maliciously, smirking at Alicia.

She glared at him.

"How dare you!" George and Hagrid shouted at the same time and George launched himself onto Malfoy and whipped out his wand.

"George!" Alicia shouted, pulling him away from Malfoy. "Stop! He's not worth it and you'll only get into trouble."

George was breathing heavily and glaring daggers at Malfoy's pale pointed face which was set in a permanent sneer. "I ought to pummel his ugly little-"

"Don't worry," said Alicia brightly, her scowl gone. "I got this."

And she pulled out her wand.

"Snuffliflors."

Suddenly Malfoy gave a rather feminine shriek of fright and disgust. In his hands, where before he had held a pile of books, he now held several wriggling mice.

At that moment there sounded a voice from across the corridor.

"Miss Spinnet!"

"Oh dear," Alicia said, glancing up to Professor Snape striding over towards them with a rather nasty malicious look on his face. "Here come the fireworks," she muttered to George, who was still too busy roaring with laughter to notice.

"Five points from Gryffindor," he said silkily. "The use of magic is strictly forbidden in the corridors. As is unprovoked attack."

Alicia struggled to keep a straight face as she watched Malfoy drop the mice like hot coals and jump about in discontent as they scurried around his feet.

Just as Snape was about to dock more points for inappropriate laughter, Professor McGonagall swept in between them.

"Did I just see what I think I saw, Miss Spinnet?" she asked sternly.

"Yes," sighed Alicia. "But Professor Snape's already docked points, and probably on the way to giving me a detention, knowing my luck, so you don't have to."

McGonagall looked faintly amused. "No, I was merely going to say that that was an extremely talented Transfigure you just performed. I must say that I'm rather impressed. Let's make that, fifteen points to Gryffindor, shall we?"

Alicia grinned with glee, especially as she caught sight of Snape's outraged face gaping from behind McGonagall.

"Move along everyone," she said briskly as she swept past Snape, who was still glaring murderously.

"Come on, Ali," George said, still chuckling and pulling her away before Snape could do any more damage.

Malfoy glowered her furiously as she and George walked away down the corridor, sniggering.

* * *

"_You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you? And send me an owl if you find anything?"_

"_And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is. It'd be safe to ask them."_

"_Very safe, as they're both dentists."_

Alicia frowned. She had overheard this conversation between Harry, Ron and Hermione as she headed to lunch. And something had struck her as both very odd and strangely familiar.

Firstly, she wondered why on earth they were so interested in this particular person. And secondly, the name 'Flamel' seemed so familiar.

And so it was that when she went down to visit Hagrid that afternoon, she decided to ask him if he knew anything about him.

"Hagrid," she said, as she put the kettle on to boil. "I don't suppose you know anything about a person called Nicolas Flamel, do you?"

Hagrid's head shot up. "Have yeh bin talkin' to Harry about this? Tha's the second time I've bin asked tha' today. I told him to drop it. Should've known. Tha' boy's nearly as inquisitive as you. Didn't no one ever tell yeh tha' curiosity killed the cat?"

"No, no, Harry hasn't told me anything. I just read his name when I was researching an essay, that's all," Alicia said hastily, pouring him a cup of tea.

"Well good. Never you mind who he is. Just yeh forget it."

* * *

On Christmas Day the whole of Hogwarts was covered in metres of snow and a terrible blizzard raged outside.

They opened their presents together in the Common Room, as was their custom.

"Hey look," Fred said, waving a piece of paper in the air. "It's a letter from Mum and Dad."

_Dear Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Alicia (if you're there)_

_We're having a wonderful time here in Romania visiting Charlie. He seems to have settled in very well on the Dragon Reserve and it's certainly his type of place._

_Bill is enjoying having some time off working for N.E. though he'll be back with you in a week or so. Charlie sends his love to all of you._

_Merry Christmas, my darlings. See you at Easter. I hope that Alicia and Angelina will come to stay with us over the Easter break? _

_Love to all,_

_Mum and Dad xxx_

"Aw that's sweet," said Alicia and she looked fondly at her homemade knitted sweater which this year was emerald green. She pulled out the box of fudge and handed it round. Her Christmas presents were all lovely; plenty of sweets, books and Quidditch supplies. And also a particularly beautiful one from Charlie. It was another charm for her charm bracelet. He had taken to giving her a charm every Christmas now. This year, it was what appeared to be a tiny head wreathed in fiery flames. She chuckled as she realised that it signified their little late night chat. She also smiled at the fact that the flames represented the fiery coloured hair that all the Weasleys possessed, rather well.

She grinned and quickly scribbled a letter to Charlie.

Christmas was a very cheerful affair and they all spent most of their time playing Wizard's Chess, or Exploding Snap or having mad snowball fights by the lake. These usually ended in someone cheating, normally Alicia and George who always teamed up. They used a combination of Alicia's charm skills and George's sneaky tactics and ended up defeating the others with ease.

The others were not best pleased, nor amused.

"You cheated!" Fred accused, sitting on the ground in a pile of snow, his face dripping wet. Ron and Harry scowled from where they sat, covered in snow.

Alicia and George chuckled gleefully and did a victory dance.

Oh yes, Christmas certainly was a time for Charms.


	17. Wood's Torture

**Chapter 17: Wood's Torture**

* * *

After Christmas when everyone returned to Hogwarts and the normal regime resumed, Quidditch became even more of a trial.

Wood kept their noses to the grindstone, as if they didn't have enough on their plates what with all the homework they were getting.

Trainings became harder and more tiring, and also vastly less pleasant. The weather left a lot to be desired, as January and February brought great rain downpours and storms.

But Wood did not let up. "Do we _want _to win the Cup?" he kept saying, as if wanting to win the Cup would make them want to get frostbite or freeze to death.

"_Yes_, Oliver," they would sigh exasperatedly, and they would fly back out into the pouring rain and mud.

As if this weren't enough to deal with, they received a particularly bad piece of news a few weeks into the restart of term.

"_Snape's _refereeing the Hufflepuff game?" Fred said incredulously, after Wood broke the news to them one very muddy practice. "But why?"

"I don't know," said Wood irritably. "But all I do know is that we need to not give him any excuses. This is a must win match. We can't afford to let him take this victory away from us."

The rest of the team nodded fervently. Alicia wondered whether this was just to please Wood or whether their hatred for Snape ran so deep they'd do anything to thwart him. In her case, it was a bit of both.

Meanwhile, aside from all the insane Quidditch practice and the endless piles of homework, she was trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. She had become rather interested in him since she had overheard Harry, Ron and Hermione talking about him. But she didn't want to ask them. Because then she'd have to come out and say that she'd been eavesdropping. Besides, she didn't want to get too involved. She was merely curious. Or so she told herself.

But she even wrote to Charlie, asking whether he had ever heard of such a person. Charlie had written back, apologising but saying that no, he had not heard of him but he was curious as to why she wanted to know. For the time being, she told him that it was for some homework she was doing, knowing full well that that wouldn't satisfy him but deciding that it would have to do for now.

So when one day she heard the three first years discussing Flamel again, she listened in carefully.

"I've found him," Harry was saying joyfully, brandishing what appeared to be a Chocolate Frog card. "Listen to this: Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and for his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel."

Alicia's eyes widened. Then she heard Hermione leap up in excitement. Moments later she returned with a large book from which she read a passage of great interest.

It concerned something called the Philosopher's Stone. It did not mean a lot to Alicia but as she listened further, she heard something very interesting indeed.

"See?" Hermione was saying. "That's what the dog is guarding on the third floor! The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone. I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe because they're friends and he knew someone was after it. That's why he wanted the stone out of Gringotts."

Alicia gasped as she remembered the article that had been in the Daily Prophet at the beginning of the year, about an attempted break in at Gringotts.

She felt bad for eavesdropping but she was extremely interested and she had just found out something very exciting indeed. But she was still curious. Why were these three so interested in this so-called Philosopher's Stone?

* * *

As the match that Snape was refereeing drew closer, tensions grew. Everyone seemed to be feeling the strain, especially Harry, whom Alicia knew Snape hated.

She did her best to reassure him whenever she could but it did not help that she herself had not a lot of confidence in the upcoming match nor Snape's ability to be unbiased.

"No pressure Harry but we rather need to catch the Snitch as early as possible today. You know, prevent Snape from favouring Hufflepuff too much," Wood said, clapping Harry on the back.

Alicia smiled at Harry. "It'll be fine. Just do your best."

Angelina gave Harry some words of advice about Cedric Diggory and how best to outwit him.

Fred and George just winked at Harry. "Don't worry mate," they said. "I don't think you'll have any problems with _Diggory_ at all."

There was something about the way they said this that Alicia didn't like at all. It sounded very suspiciously as if they were up to something. But she brushed it off and focused herself on the match.

"Hey look!" Someone called. "Dumbledore's come to watch."

Alicia grinned, as she knew this would reassure Harry.

"Come on, team. Let's go," said Wood bracingly and they took their positions in the tunnel.

The match did not start well. Snape immediately awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at him. Wood was not impressed.

"George! Stop being a prat!" Alicia yelled. Wood smiled gratefully at her. George just winked at Alicia and zoomed off, eyes scanning for another Bludger.

But Angelina, Alicia and Katie soon started working well together and nearly scored twice.

Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, Alicia saw a strange flash of yellow and black. She swivelled quickly on her broom to see Cedric Diggory, lurching around on his broom in a very strange fashion.

Not again, surely. His broom couldn't be cursed too, could it? But it didn't appear to be Cedric's broom that was in trouble; it was Cedric himself.

It was almost as though he was trying to shake something off himself. The crowd began to laugh and as Cedric continued to twitch on his broom, Harry suddenly streaked towards the ground in a remarkable dive. He snatched forward and then straightened out, triumphantly clutching a glint of gold in his fist.

As his teammates realised what had happened, they swooped down on him, shouting and cheering.

Meanwhile up above, the crowds had stopped cheering and a wave of whispering broke out. Everyone was looking at Cedric Diggory.

He was now jolting about more than ever and suddenly he slipped and fell from his broom. Alicia gave a little shriek as she saw this and screamed to one of the Hufflepuff Chasers who was hovering nearby.

"Whitby!" she yelled. Hearing his name, Sam Whitby looked up and saw Cedric toppling from his broom.

He zoomed forward and just managed to catch him as he fell. As they landed with a crash on the ground, Diggory leapt up and pulled off his trousers, as though there was a snake inside them. The crowd roared with laughter as Diggory stood in the middle of the Quidditch stadium in only his underpants. He was clutching his right arm in his other; it appeared to have been broken in the fall.

"What on earth is going on here?" Snape exclaimed, looking more than ever like an overgrown bat, as everyone, including the Gryffindor team swooped down roaring with laughter.

Diggory was looking very bemused and was looking suspiciously at his trousers.

"I…" Diggory frowned. "I don't know. I think someone put Itching Powder in my trousers." He winced as he moved his arm and he looked around him at the Gryffindors who were all snorting with laughter.

Snape's sallow face was set in an expression of deep displeasure, though Alicia suspected this was more to do with the fact that Gryffindor had won easily before he had had a chance to favour the other team.

"Well hurry up Diggory," snapped Snape irritably. "Go inside and get some trousers on. And get to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey will sort you out."

Diggory, still looking incredibly confused, hurried off towards the changing rooms, his Hufflepuff teammates following, in fits of laughter.

Snape looked sour but the Gryffindors were elated. What a match it had been.

* * *

The changing room after the game was filled the Gryffindor team all still chuckling over the spectacle they had just witnessed.

Angelina and Katie were still in fits of hysterical giggles.

As they entered the changing rooms, Alicia grabbed Fred and George each by the arm and hauled them outside.

"What on earth were you playing at?" she yelled.

The triumphant grins slid off their faces very swiftly. They tried to feign looks of innocence but the expression simply didn't work on their faces.

"Come on Ali," Fred reasoned. "It was just a bit of fun. Lighten up."

Alicia glowered at him. "Just a bit of fun? You call that fun? He could have died! Or at least been seriously injured! Just imagine if he'd fallen from further up!" she shouted. "But I suppose you would have thought _that _was just a _"bit of fun"_ too?"

George looked a little guilty. He threw a look at Fred who shrugged.

"He's alright," Fred said. She glared at him. "Come on, Ali, cheer up. We won!"

But Alicia just made a noise of disgust and stormed from the room.

* * *

Later that day, Alicia went to see Cedric in the Hospital Wing.

"Hey Diggory, how're you doing?" she said, sitting down beside his bed.

He grinned. "I'm fine; Madam Pomfrey fixed my arm no problem but she's just keeping me in for a few hours. You know how she does."

Alicia nodded sympathetically. "I'm afraid I have to apologise on someone else's behalf for what happened today," Alicia began cautiously.

To her surprise Cedric gave a chuckle. "Don't worry," he said, grinning. "I know who was responsible."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "I don't suppose it's too hard to guess," she said. "Anyway, I wanted to say I'm sorry for their stupid prank."

"On the contrary, I thought it was rather amusing," Cedric said.

"Was this before or after you had some trousers on?" Alicia smirked. Cedric chuckled. "Well I have to give you some credit there, Diggory. You certainly know how to take a joke…even one that involves you in your underwear in front of the entire population of Hogwarts."

Cedric laughed. "You make it sound as though you never gave me any credit before," he said accusingly.

"Well, I didn't," Alicia smirked. "After all, you are just the Hufflepuff Pretty Boy."

Cedric put a hand to his heart as though mortally offended. "Is that what everyone in Gryffindor thinks of me?" he said, in a hurt tone.

"Yep, pretty much," Alicia replied, grinning.

"Guess it's better than Flint, Slytherin Ugly Troll," Cedric sighed.

Alicia burst out laughing. "Keep telling yourself that," she said, chuckling as she left the room. "See you around Diggory."

Cedric shook his head in amusement as Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room with a nasty looking Potion.


	18. Norbert

**Chapter 18: Norbert**

* * *

Harry was worried. He was anxious about Norbert. Hagrid had had the dragon now for three weeks and he was growing bigger and bigger by the day. Every time Harry, Ron and Hermione went to visit him, he was at least three times larger than the day before.

Harry tried to reason with Hagrid that he simply could not keep him for much longer but Hagrid was obstinate. He would not set Norbert free, because apparently a twenty inch Norwegian Ridgeback that had already taken a chunk out of Ron's hand, would not be able to defend himself in the wild.

Harry shook his head in despair as he thought about the fact that Hagrid was harbouring an illegal dragon in a wooden cabin. He had to do something.

"Alicia? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Alicia peered out at Harry from behind her enormous stack of books and parchment in the Library where she was desperately trying to lessen her huge amount of homework. The two hour Quidditch practises the past two nights had not helped her situation. Exams were only a month away and the teachers had obviously realised this fact.

"Oh hi Harry," she smiled. "Sure, what's wrong?" she said, pushing a stack of parchment off the chair beside her so he could sit down.

Harry bit his lip and looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure I should really tell anyone this, but I feel I have to. It's Hagrid."

Alicia grimaced. She knew all too well Hagrid's crazy plans.

"He's got a…" Harry broke off, wondering whether to tell her.

"A dragon, yes I know," Alicia grinned, finishing the sentence for him.

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "You know?" he asked. "I mean, I know you're friends with him, but he didn't exactly mean to tell us. We were just there when it hatched."

Alicia laughed. "No, he didn't tell me. But after all, it is Hagrid. He's not the world's greatest mastermind at hiding things. Besides, I went to visit him and he was dancing around the cabin, completely drunk, waving a dragon's egg around. So yeah, like I said, not great at keeping things secret."

Harry chuckled, then remembered the seriousness of the situation. "But it's about twenty inches long now. It's getting about twenty times bigger every time we see it, I swear!"

"What, little Norbert?" Alicia smirked, imitating Hagrid. "He can't be too much of a handful; he wouldn't hurt a fly."

Harry grimaced. "But apparently, he _would_ hurt a Ronald."

Alicia glanced at him in surprise.

"Ron's in the hospital wing for a bite," Harry told her. "He tried to tell Madam Pomfrey it was a dog bite, but I don't think she was very convinced; I doubt she's ever seen a dog bite that has gone orange and swelled up to the size of a melon."

Alicia snorted. "Well, what's the problem? It's Hagrid's pet; he can look after it, can't he?"

Harry bit his lip. "Well, I'm not sure he can. He's so besotted by the stupid thing that he's not going to see it for what it is until it burns his house down. It can't stay there."

"Well, what can _we_ do?" Alicia sighed, rather fed up of getting other people out of trouble.

"I don't know; that's what I came to ask your advice about. You always seem to have a solution for everything," Harry smiled hopefully.

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Well, as it happens, I _do_ have a suggestion. In light of the fact that my best friend is now a dragon chasing fanatic, I think he might be able to help us. As Ron will no doubt have told you, Charlie is in Romania at the moment, looking after dragons on a reserve. If we can somehow get the dragon to him, I'm sure they'd take him."

Harry beamed. "Brilliant! You're amazing, Alicia. But hang on, I thought Charlie was supposed to come back soon?"

"He was," chuckled Alicia. "But they offered him an extended stay- apparently he's so talented, they didn't want to let go of him." She snorted. "Personally I don't believe it. Him? Talented? Ha, I'll believe it when I see it. Anyway the lucky bugger gets to take his OWLs in Romania so he won't be back till the end of the year."

Harry laughed at her irritable tirade.

"Anyway" Harry grinned. "Thanks a million, Ali."

Alicia rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Men," she sighed, smirking slightly.

* * *

_Dear Alicia,_

_Wow, you're not really taking my advice on staying out of trouble, are you? Ron told me about the little troll escapade. Honestly, you didn't really think you could keep me from finding out, did you? I have eyes and ears everywhere. Foolish girl._

_And that reminds me, I'm not satisfied by your pathetic excuse about doing some homework on Nicolas Flamel. If it was homework, you would have asked a teacher or swotted up in the library some more like you normally do. You're up to something. Don't think I won't find out what it is. _

_On the subject of the dragon, you can tell Hagrid that we'd be pleased to have a Norwegian Ridgeback here at the reserve. We'll have to take him away while it's still dark; we can't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Can you get the dragon to the top of the Astronomy Tower at midnight next Sunday? _

_Love,_

_Charlie_

_PS. I tried to visit the Common Room again last night through the fire, but I popped up in McGonagall's office instead. I don't know who was more frightened really…_

**Dear Charlie,**

**I'm just going to ignore that first comment, coming from the biggest rule breaker of them all. McGonagall's first words to me were that I could hopefully stay out of trouble now that you aren't here. **

**You can think what you like about the Nicolas Flamel thing. You won't get anything out of me.**

**And yes, that should be fine. I'll be there, with Harry, Hermione and the dragon. Ron won't be; he's in the Hospital Wing- the stupid thing bit him. **

**Love, **

**Alicia.**

**PS Ha. Maybe that'll teach you to stop appearing whenever you want to and scaring the living daylights out of people. You'd make a good ghost.**

* * *

"Have you got it?"

"Yes, of course I've got it. Stop nagging!"

"_I'm_ sorry; would you rather we forgot the thing for which we're doing this whole stupid midnight trip?"

"No, I'd just rather you didn't ask stupid questions."

"Trust me, it's not a stupid question when it comes to you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"You two! Cut it out. You'll get us caught!"

"Sorry Alicia."

"Ouch, that was my foot!"

"Well pardon me for living. Not my fault someone has such big feet."

"Will you two just shut up? You sound like Ron and Ginny."

At this Harry and Hermione shut up rather abruptly.

"We're here," Alicia whispered, drawing the cloak off them and shifting the cage carefully in her grasp. "He should be here in a few minutes."

Harry and Hermione waited anxiously, Hermione chewing her lip and glancing worriedly at the stairs.

"Where is he?" she muttered.

"Don't worry," whispered Alicia. "He'll be here," she said. "I think," she added, in an undertone.

And sure enough, a few minutes later, out of the darkness, four boys swooped out of the air and landed on the stone floor of the Astronomy tower.

"Hello there, Spinnet," said an all too familiar voice. "Long time no see."

Alicia rolled her eyes as a familiar smirk gleamed out of the darkness. "Hmm, indeed," she agreed. "But unfortunately, not long time no _speak_."

Charlie chuckled and hugged her. "So, where is this dragon?"

Alicia dangled the cage in front of him. "Here."

"Won't Damien be pleased?" Charlie said, turning to his friends. "A real live baby Norwegian Ridgeback!"

He grinned.

"Excuse me, I'm being very rude. You must be Harry, of course," Charlie said, shaking Harry's hand vigorously. "And you must be Hermione," he smiled, shaking Hermione's too.

"These are my reserve buddies," he gestured to the three boys behind him, all of whom were about a few years older than Charlie. "This is Matt, Angus and Chuck."

They grinned and greeted Alicia, Harry and Hermione.

"Right then," Charlie said, rubbing his hands together. "We'd better get this dragon out of here."

"Are you leaving already?" Alicia said, sounding a touch disappointed.

Charlie smirked at her. "Of course not, love. My friends are going to take Norbert here back to Romania. I, however, am going to remain here for a while. I've missed the old castle, you see."

Alicia raised her eyebrows.

"Well, ok then. Not just the castle," he grinned. Alicia smiled and looked pleased.

The three boys attached Norbert's cage to their brooms and Charlie exchanged a few words with them before they flew off into the night.

"We'd better get back to our dormitory before we get caught," Harry said, glancing at Hermione.

Charlie and Alicia nodded. "Ok."

"Thanks for everything, Charlie. And of course, you Alicia," Harry said.

They grinned. "No problem," they said in unison.

Harry and Hermione headed off down the stairs.

"Hang on," Alicia said, a few moments later. "Didn't they forget-"

She was cut off as Charlie quickly put a hand over her mouth and shoved her into an alcove in the wall.

"What the hell are you-" Alicia began but Charlie shushed her furiously.

And then she heard the sound of a voice coming nearer.

It was Filch.

"Oh I do love to catch students out of bed," he was muttering to Mrs Norris gleefully. "It is such fun."

Alicia's eyes widened fearfully.

"Now, I wonder if there are _any more_ naughty students out of bed," Filch was muttering.

He was very close now. Alicia held her breath and Charlie pushed her even further into the wall as Filch passed their hiding place.

Filch stopped briefly and Alicia felt her heart clench slightly in panic, but a moment later, Filch turned and headed off down the stairs, still muttering to his cat.

They waited with bated breath for a few moments, then they both let out a sigh of relief. Charlie removed his hand from her mouth, and they cautiously stepped out of the tiny alcove.

Filch appeared to have gone.

"That was close," whispered Alicia, her heart still thumping wildly. "Ah, but who doesn't love a bit of a risk?" she said sarcastically.

Charlie grinned. "_Risk_ is my middle name."

"Trust me, I know," Alicia said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what's your plan?"

"I don't really know. I figured I'd just stay here for a few days and then fly back to the reserve after that."

"Sounds like a good plan, but you're forgetting something rather important, Einstein," Alicia said. Charlie frowned at the unfamiliar name. "You're not _supposed_ to be here."

But Charlie simply shook his head. "Dear, dear. Do you _know_ me?"

Alicia groaned. "Yes, all too well."

"Well then, doesn't that answer your little problem? I'll just avoid the teachers as much as possible by ways that only I can. It can't hurt to just stay here a few days. Besides I missed Hogwarts… and my best pal as well, of course," he said, giving her a squeeze.

"Alright," she said. "Well, goodnight then," she said, turning to walk down the stairs.

But he caught her round the waist and pulled her back. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To bed."

"No, no, no. I didn't fly all the way over from Romania just to go to sleep," Charlie said, wagging a finger at her as though she was a naughty school child.

She rolled her eyes. "But it's nearly one. I'm tired," she whined.

"Not nearly tired enough," Charlie said, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to his broomstick. "Come on, we're going for a fly."

Alicia groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Ok, but I'm holding you personally responsible if I fall asleep and fall off your stupid broom."

Charlie chuckled from behind her. "Don't worry; I won't let you fall," he said, gripping her firmly round the waist and kicking off, and they soared up into the cool fresh night air.


	19. The Cat is Out of the Bag

**Chapter 19: The Cat is out of the Bag**

* * *

"Good morning," said Charlie brightly, sitting up in his bed as the morning bell rung.

The rest of the boys in his dormitory poked their heads out sleepily. "Morning Charlie," they mumbled.

There was a pause. Then:

"Charlie?" they all exclaimed in surprise and confusion.

"What the hell are you doing here, mate?" Sam asked suspiciously. "You're supposed to be in Romania. Or was all that just a pleasant dream?"

"Hey!" said Charlie indignantly. "Did _no one _miss me?"

Sam grinned.

"So how come you're back?" Robbie asked, sticking his curly golden mop out from underneath his scarlet and gold duvet.

Charlie smirked and tapped his nose. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out," he said infuriatingly. His friends glared at him. "Sorry guys, top secret mission."

Tom Macmillan threw a pillow at him. "Stop being a ponce," he said. Charlie just grinned annoyingly at him.

Tom scowled and stuck his tongue out at Charlie, who snorted. "Very mature, Tom."

Then all at once, all four of his roommates pelted him with pillows.

"Hey!" he said, emerging from underneath an enormous pile of pillows. "What was that for?"

They smirked at him and stuck out their tongues.

"Anyway, moving on from that intense display of childishness," said Sean, Charlie's other roommate. "How long are you here for?"

Charlie chuckled. "Probably a week or so. I thought I might as well stay here whilst I'm here, for reasons unknown to you," he hastened to add, as he saw his friends looking curious again.

Tom glanced at the clock on the wall and swore very loudly. "It's half eight!" he exclaimed and immediately all the boys leapt out of their beds and rushed around trying to find their clothes. Charlie just lay back on his bed with a contented sigh. No rush for him this morning.

Two hours later Charlie got up and dressed and headed down to the Common Room in a leisurely fashion. He made for the long sofa that stretched in front of the fire but to his surprise and dismay someone already occupied it.

"What on earth are you doing here?" he said loudly; as he looked down to see Alicia sprawled across it.

She looked up at him, blinking blearily. "If you must know, I'm sleeping. Or _was_."

"Sleeping?" he said. "What time do you call this? You're missing lessons."

He expected her to be shocked but she simply rolled over and groaned, shutting her eyes.

"Are you ill?" he said. He'd never seen Alicia skip lessons before.

"No," came her muffled reply. "Tired."

"Oh," said Charlie in realisation. "I suppose you're going to blame me."

Alicia rolled over in order to glare at him. "Charlie, it was two in the morning. And I haven't slept more than about five hours a night for the past six weeks! So, yes."

"Missing me that badly, are you?" smirked Charlie.

"_Not _the time, Charlie," Alicia snapped.

"Alright, I'm sorry I invaded on your beauty sleep. I apologise and take full responsibility. I will help you catch up the notes, _and _I'll even treat you to a fun morning in Hogsmeade," he said, looking pleased with his solution.

"Charlie, I didn't skip lessons to come shopping with you," she said tartly, covering her eyes with her hand.

Charlie grinned. "Ah, and there was me thinking that was your ulterior motive," he said. "Shame, I guess I'll just have to kidnap you."

He made to pull her off the sofa.

"Charlie, you know that it's strictly against the rules to go off premises, especially during the school day," she reminded him.

"Ali, since _when_ have I ever followed the _rules_?" Charlie smirked.

"Good point. But I'm still not going."

"Oh yes you are. Remember what I said about kidnap. I wasn't bluffing," he said grinning. And with that, he scooped her up in his arms as though she was no more than a rag doll.

She struggled and opened her mouth to shout in protest but Charlie quickly reminded her that shouting would only alert a teacher who would wonder why she wasn't in lessons.

She shut her mouth quickly and didn't struggle any further. They managed to get to the Statue of the One Eyed crone without detection.

"Alright, alright, you can put me down now," Alicia whined and Charlie, obeying her wishes, dumped her unceremoniously on the floor.

Charlie tapped the statue with his wand. "I'll make a rule breaker out of you yet," he said, smiling.

She rolled her eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "Trust me, you already have."

* * *

They somehow managed to spend the morning in Hogsmeade without getting noticed, and Charlie smuggled Alicia back into the castle via the same secret passage so she could attend her lessons in the afternoon.

After Transfiguration, Alicia went to the library with Angelina's notes in order to catch up the work she had missed from the morning.

She was just scanning along a row of books in the corner of the library when suddenly a hand shot out and pulled her round the corner.

"Merlin!" she exclaimed. "Charlie, you _have _to stop doing that!"

Charlie smirked at her. "Merlin? Aww anyone would think you weren't a Muggle," he said.

She disregarded this comment. "What do you want? Isn't it enough that you kept me from my studies this morning, now you want to disrupt them again?"

"You work too much," he remarked, knocking the pile of books out of her hands.

"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily, picking them up hastily and thwacking him over the head with the particularly heavy volume One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

"I want to know more about this so-called Philosopher's Stone," Charlie said petulantly, rubbing his head gingerly. "You barely told me anything yesterday and you know how curious I get."

"Oh believe me, I do," Alicia muttered crossly. "Well, I don't know much more than I told you. All I do know is that there's a Philosopher's Stone and there's a three-headed dog called Fluffy guarding it on the third floor," Alicia reeled off.

"Wait, what?" Charlie asked incredulously. "I think you may have missed out that vital part about the three headed dog yesterday, Al," Charlie said, wide-eyed.

"Apparently the nasty monster belongs to Hagrid. No surprises there," Alicia snorted. "So the Stone was hidden in Hogwarts just before there was an attempt to steal it from Gringotts. Harry and co believe that Snape is trying to steal it. I'm not sure, I mean Dumbledore seems to trust him, but Snape _did _try to hex Harry during the Quidditch game, so maybe Dumbledore's wrong."

Charlie nodded thoughtfully. "Do know what other kind of protective spells are around the Stone besides of course, this three headed dog?"

Alicia shook her head, biting her lip. "It must have been the other teachers who helped."

"And what has Harry got to do with all this?" Charlie asked.

"That's what I'm not sure of," said Alicia, thinking hard. "I overheard them talking about all this. They're obviously trying to find out more too but-"

Alicia paused.

"But what?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know. How are we supposed to get any information?" Alicia was lost for suggestions.

"I think we need to ask a teacher," Charlie said, matter-of-factly.

"Don't be silly;" said Alicia at once, "We're not _supposed _to know about this. They won't tell us anything."

"My dear naïve girl, not knowingly they won't," Charlie said, a grin growing on his face.

"Oh dear, I know that look. What are you going to do?" Alicia asked, her heart sinking.

"Nothing, nothing."

"No seriously, what?"

"Just going to pay my old pal Snape a visit, I think," said Charlie casually.

Alicia clapped a hand to her forehead and groaned.

"Just meet me in the entrance hall at eight; everyone'll be at dinner," Charlie said, and he disappeared.

"Yes, everyone'll be at dinner. Everyone except me then, I suppose," she muttered irritably.

* * *

She met Charlie as promised at eight o'clock in the Entrance Hall.

"_There _you are," Alicia sighed, tapping her foot impatiently as Charlie came strolling down the steps, stowing something inside his robes.

"Patience, patience," Charlie said annoyingly, as he headed towards the door.

"So where exactly are we going that _so _important that it required me to miss my dinner?" Alicia asked sulkily.

Charlie chuckled. "You'll see."

"_You'll see,"_ Alicia muttered, imitating him.

Charlie sniggered to himself as the two of them made their way across the silent moonlit lawn towards Hagrid's hut.

"Knock knock," Charlie said, rapping twice on the door of Hagrid's small wooden hut as they reached it.

"Who's there?" Hagrid's voice said gruffly through the door.

"No, no Hagrid, it's not a joke. We've come to visit you," Charlie whispered, as Alicia snorted with laughter at the Muggle joke.

"Charlie?" Hagrid's voice was surprised, still coming from behind the door.

Charlie winked at Alicia. "I'm getting that a lot today," he commented wryly.

The door swung open. "Where are yeh?" Hagrid said, confused.

Charlie chuckled and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak. Hagrid jumped in fright, pressing an enormous hand to his heart.

"How _many _of yeh have those things?" he asked incredulously.

Charlie just shook his head and pushed past Hagrid into the cabin, pulling Alicia behind.

"We borrowed it from Harry," Charlie explained, putting on the kettle and drawing the curtains.

"Alicia too?" Hagrid was shocked, shutting the door behind them. "What are you lot doin' here?" he asked. "Is Norbert ok?"

Alicia rolled her eyes at Hagrid's obsessive molly-coddling of the little monster.

"Yes," she said, a touch exasperated. "Norbert is _fine._"

"Yeh still haven' explained what yeh doin' here, Charlie," Hagrid reminded him.

"Oh yeah, well seeing as I was coming to collect Norbert with my friends, I thought I might as well stay here for a while," Charlie said, in a suspiciously cheery voice. Hagrid however didn't seem to notice. "And of course visiting you was high on my priority list," Charlie said, grinning flatteringly at Hagrid, who looked a tad bemused.

Alicia kicked Charlie under the table. He frowned in pain and clutched his leg, shooting daggers at Alicia.

"What was that for?" he mouthed silently at Alicia from across the table, as Hagrid was staring absently over at where Norbert's bed had been just the day before.

"Too much," she hissed.

"So Hagrid, you're a man about the place," Charlie struck up again, attempting to sound casual. Alicia just rolled her eyes and sighed. God, he was useless at this. But Charlie ploughed on. "Obviously Dumbledore trusts you with everything, you know, all the secrets of Hogwarts-"

"Forget it," Hagrid said firmly, cutting Charlie off. "I'm not tellin' yeh anythin'."

Charlie opened his mouth to protest but Hagrid cut him off. "I know Harry put yeh up to this. I'm not stupid, yeh know."

"Harry didn't put us up to anything. We're merely two curious students on the quest for knowledge," Charlie said brightly as Hagrid shook his head, his lips firmly pressed together and his face set in a stern expression.

They sat in silence a few moments as Hagrid went back to staring absently at the feathers and suspicious dark stains on the floor. Alicia and Charlie hastily got up, as soon as the kettle started boiling.

"Abort the plan," said Alicia under her breath, as soon as they were out of earshot of Hagrid. "It's not working. Just forget it."

"But you told me-" Charlie began.

"Yes I know what I told you. And it _is _important that we find out this information. But we're obviously going to have to get it out of him another way. It's rather clear that your acting skills are not quite _up to scratch_," Alicia pointed out.

Charlie looked indignant. "I'll have you know that I…oh never mind. As it so happens, I have a backup plan."

"You do?" Alicia said, looking hopeful.

"Ah, not so snarky now, are we?" Charlie grinned. He drew a tiny bottle out from underneath his robes.

"Veritaserum!" Alicia's eyes widened. "Oh you didn't."

"Oh yes I did," Charlie grinned.

"Was it really necessary?"

"Come on, stealing from Snape is so much fun!"

"Please remind me why I'm friends with you," Alicia said, sighing in resignation.

"Because you couldn't live without my razor sharp wit and Weasley charm," he suggested.

"Oh not _that_ again!" Alicia groaned. Charlie chuckled. "Anyway, come on, let's get it over with."

"This should work perfectly. A couple of drops of this and he'll be spouting all we want to know and more."

"Well, it's got to be better than Plan A," remarked Alicia, quickly busying herself with making the tea as Hagrid looked over rather suspiciously.

* * *

Two hours and a bottle of Truth Serum later, Alicia and Charlie headed back up to the castle, in great excitement.

They knew all about the enchantments around the Stone; the Devil Snare, the flying keys, the chessboard, the troll…

"I'm hungry," whined Alicia, as they trudged their way up to the castle.

"Still?" Charlie said. "You were hungry ten seconds ago."

She scowled at him but he couldn't see it in the dark.

"Alright, seeing as I made you miss dinner, I'll make it up to you," Charlie said, taking her by the arm.

"I am _not _going to Hogsmeade again if that's your plan," Alicia said steadfastly.

Charlie laughed. "No, no, come on."

* * *

"And you just tickle the pear and-"

"Tickle the pear?"

"Yes, you tickle the pear and it lets you in. What?" Charlie said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Alicia snorted with laughter. "Don't worry; it's just another one of those wizarding world things that surprise me. Tickling pears, that's a first."

Charlie shook his head in perplexity.

"And here you are," he said, pulling her into the kitchens.

"Wow, I've never been here before," she said, in awe.

"Of course you haven't," Charlie said. "Only _special _people get to come in _here._"

Alicia was too busy gazing round the room in amazement to retort.

"This is amazing," she whispered.

"Wait for it. That's not the best part," said Charlie. "What do you feel like eating?"

Alicia's eyes widened. "Hmm…Yorkshire pudding," she said, her stomach rumbling.

"One Yorkshire pudding coming up," Charlie said. "Hooky!" he called.

There was a crack and a house elf appeared. "Hello sir and miss," she said brightly, smiling broadly at the pair. "What can I get for you?"

"Could we have a plate of Yorkshire Pudding and some apple pies and jam doughnuts and crumpets and some chocolate cake- you know the kind they had at dinner, ooh and some rhubarb crumble and custard?" Charlie said, his eyes lighting up.

Hooky nodded, still beaming in delight at them and hurried off.

Alicia was looking at Charlie in incredulity. "That enough food?"

Charlie grinned broadly. "I'm hungry."

"I'd never have guessed," Alicia said sardonically.

Hooky reappeared moments later bearing an enormous platter of food which they soon dug into, sitting on the floor by the glowing embers of the fire.

They discussed what Hagrid had told them.

"What did he say about Dumbledore's enchantment?" Charlie asked, resting on his elbows, satisfactorily full of food.

"I don't know exactly," she replied, brushing crumbs off her skirt. "I think the Veritaserum was starting to wear off. But he definitely said something about a special mirror. And I think he said that only someone who doesn't want to use the Stone can get it," Alicia said frowning.

Charlie's eyes widened. "Do you know what that means?" he said.

Alicia's frown deepened and she shook her head. "Not really."

"It means that Snape can't get it, not even if he wants to. The Stone is safe, despite what Harry thinks."

Alicia gasped as she realised that he was right. "Well, it's ok then, isn't it?" she said. "We tell Harry what we know and it'll all be fine."

Charlie nodded. Then he gave a smile as she stifled a yawn. "Come on," he said. "I think it's time you went to bed. You need your sleep, so I've found out- the hard way, I might add. And hey, isn't it your first exam tomorrow?"

Alicia groaned. "Thank you very much for reminding me. History of Magic," she grumbled. "Just great."

* * *

The next day Alicia's exams began, starting with History of Magic. She found it intensely difficult to concentrate; a combination of the stifling heat in the Great Hall and the lack of sleep the night before.

Alicia sighed as she tried desperately to drag from her memory the details of the 1600 Goblin Rebellions and the war with the giants.

Next was Charms, both practical and written, both of which Alicia breezed through with no problems at all.

The Common Room and Library that evening were packed full of stressed students, desperately trying to cram incantations and look up details about how to make particularly difficult Potions.

"Not working again surely?" Charlie said, dropping down beside Alicia as she sat by the Lake, on the afternoon of her second day of exams.

"Yes, Charlie," Alicia said, through gritted teeth. "And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't distract me again."

Charlie smirked and peered over her shoulder at the textbook she was studying.

"Gamp's Law," he scoffed. "Ah third year Transfiguration is so _easy._"

Alicia glowered at him. "If you do not make yourself scarce pretty sharpish, I will not hesitate to hurt you," she said viciously.

Charlie's eyes widened and he leapt up hurriedly, watching her wand warily.

"I guess I'll see you later then," Charlie said, backing away.

"I wouldn't count on it," Alicia growled, not taking her eyes off her book.

* * *

That night was the Astronomy practical exam. It wasn't too difficult and afterwards the Third Year students miserably trudged back to the Common Room to cram in a bit of revision before bed.

The next day was Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures practical exam, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes.

Finally, the last day of exams dawned, with Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions. Alicia managed to get her way through the last few exams and by the end, she was worn out. It had only been three days, but the exams had taken a lot out of them.

At last, the third year students emerged from the intensely tricky Potions paper, dishevelled and exhausted.

At dinner that evening, Alicia and Angelina discussed the exams and enjoyed the relief of being able to relax. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was loud and raucous, not least because the majority of the teachers were still invigilating O.W.L and N.E.W.T exams. As Fred and George were recounting a hilarious tale of some practical joke they had pulled, a small boy in Hufflepuff robes came over and tapped Alicia on the shoulder.

"This is for you," he said, handing her a piece of parchment, and he scurried off, before Alicia had time to thank him.

She unfolded the paper. It said:

_Party tonight- Hufflepuff Common Room. Bring as many people as you like. _

_Diggory xx_

_PS. Password is Mellivora_

Alicia looked up at her friends with a grin. "Party tonight in the Hufflepuff Common Room," she said. Fred and George whooped. Angelina gave a giggle and whispered something to Alicia who giggled back. Charlie, who was only eating in the Great Hall because hardly any teachers were there, peered over her shoulder at the note.

"What a sap," he sniggered. "He put _kisses_."

Fred and George snatched the note from her hand and looked at it. They snickered too. "Wonder if he's so big-headed after the Itching Powder incident," Fred jeered.

Charlie chuckled. He had been particularly amused by that story.

Alicia glared at them and snatched the note back. "Stop being silly, you three," she snapped, and put the note in her bag.

"Tom Daniels is going to be there," Angelina was saying excitedly. "Hmm what am I going to wear?"

Alicia groaned and turned to talk to Katie.

So that evening, a large crowd of Gryffindors headed over to the Hufflepuff Common Room. A large party was already in full swing.

"Spinnet, you made it," Diggory said, coming over and handing her a drink. Thankfully it was just Butterbeer, thought Alicia, as she saw Charlie peering suspiciously over her shoulder, before being swamped by girls. She rolled her eyes slightly.

"Quite a party you've got going on here," she commented, with a grin.

"Yeah, Jerry Barratt in the year above organised it with his dorm mates. He told us all to spread the news," Diggory replied.

"I just hope the teachers don't hear this," Alicia said, as loud music began to pound out of a pair of speakers placed rather uncomfortably close to where she was standing.

"We put a Silencing Charm on the Common Room, so I hope not. Come on, come and dance."

The party went on for many hours. Alicia did her best to stay lively but after a few hours, she was almost asleep on her feet.

She made her way over to the sofa beside the fire and sat down, resting her head on a soft yellow cushion.

A few moments later, she heard a soft voice in her ear. "Come on Alicia, I'll take you back to the Common Room."

She opened her eyes reluctantly, to see Charlie's grinning face blurrily in front of her face. His eyes were very bright, she noted suspiciously, but she was too tired to scold.

"Ok," she whispered, getting up.

They walked slowly back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Good party," Alicia commented as they walked. "You seemed to be having fun."

Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, turns out the Hufflepuffs _do, _in fact, know how to party."

"Here we are; quid agis," Alicia said to the Fat Lady, who was looking disapproving.

"A bit late isn't it?" she said severely. "I've half a mind not to let you in." Clearly she did not take kindly to being woken up. But she reluctantly let them in.

"It's not _that _late," grumbled Alicia, as they stepped through the portrait hole. "It's only eleve-"

She broke off in a gasp as she caught sight of a motionless body on the floor of the deserted Gryffindor Common Room.

Charlie gasped as he saw it too and he rushed forward and bent down over the body. It was Neville Longbottom.

"It's Neville," he said quickly, as Alicia came hurrying over. "It's alright; it's just a Body-bind." He pulled out his wand and muttered the counter curse.

Neville's limbs unfroze and he sat up slowly, looking frightened.

"What happened, Neville?" Alicia asked worriedly.

"It's Harry, and Hermione and Ron," he said in a rush. "They've…they've gone somewhere. I don't know where. They were sneaking out again. I tried to stop them but they said it was important and then Hermione put this body bind on me and said she was sorry but it was for my own good. I don't know where they've gone but they seemed pretty urgent and they've been sneaking out before."

Alicia patted him reassuringly on the arm. "Don't worry, Neville. It's alright. We'll find them and make sure they don't get into any trouble. Charlie," she motioned to him.

Charlie nodded quickly and took Neville upstairs. When he came back down again, Alicia was frantic.

"They've gone after Snape, I know they have," she moaned, "We've got to stop them."

Charlie looked uncertain. "Are you sure? They might just have gone out for a-"

"If you're going to say walk, Charlie Weasley, save your breath. I know Harry Potter far too well to know that he just goes out for casual walks at eleven at night. Besides, why would they hex Neville if they just wanted a bit of fresh air?"

Charlie couldn't argue. "Oh, alright. Come on then," he said, and they hurried out of the portrait hole.

* * *

**A/N.** Next chapter on its way soon! Only 6 days till Christmas :)


	20. Too Late

**Chapter 20: Too Late**

* * *

"They've already gone through," whispered Alicia, as the two of them reached the room on the third floor.

They edged into the room as quietly as they could. Alicia and Charlie's jaws dropped as they caught sight of the enormous three headed monster, that was currently lying fast asleep, sprawled across the floor, great snores rippling from its huge nostrils.

Alicia watched the huge beast, frozen to the spot with fear. She glanced at Charlie, who gulped nervously. Then he seemed to pull himself together.

"Come on," he whispered, squeezing Alicia's hand reassuringly.

Alicia's eyes quickly scoured the room, catching sight of a small golden harp, which appeared to have been enchanted as it was emitting streams of silvery music.

She frowned. "Where did that come from?" she whispered to Charlie, who shrugged.

"We'd better hurry," Charlie said, moving over to where one of the dog's enormous paws was slumped across the trapdoor. "Come on; help me move its paw."

Alicia hurried over and they managed to drag the gigantic furry paw without waking it up. They hurriedly pulled the trapdoor open, to reveal a large gaping black hole.

"Shall I go first?" Charlie offered, mustering a grin.

"By all means," Alicia replied, looking warily down. "Which enchantment is next?"

"I can't remember what Hagrid said," he replied. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

He took a deep breath and jumped. Alicia waited with bated breath until she heard a thump and an exclamation.

"It's alright," Charlie's voice called up a moment later. "It's just the Devil Snare."

"Oh wonderful," muttered Alicia sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better. Oh screw it," she said and jumped, landing shortly on a very soft bed of what seemed to be a large twisted plant.

Charlie was already struggling as the plant wrapped its long green tentacles around his legs and chest.

"Stop struggling," she reminded him, and he fell still.

Moments later they slipped through and landed on the damp floor below, relatively unhurt.

* * *

"Hermione!" Alicia shouted, seeing a head of bushy brown hair and a glaring red one ahead of her.

Hermione whirled around, shock flitting across her face. "Alicia? Charlie? What are you doing here?"

"We came to warn you but I guess we were too late," she said, rushing over to help her hold up Ron.

Alicia glanced round at the enormous chess pieces on the gigantic chess board. This was McGonagall's enchantment.

"I don't think I can move Ron for a bit," Hermione said frantically.

"Don't worry," said Alicia, "Keep him still for a few minutes. We'll go and help Harry."

* * *

"What is this room?" Charlie said, looking around him in confusion.

"I don't know," Alicia replied. "I don't remember Hagrid telling us about this enchantment."

The moment they stepped into the room, a fire of purple flames sprang up behind them, and black flames shot up in the doorway that led into the next room. They both jumped in surprise.

"Here, what's this?" said Charlie, picking up a scroll of paper that was lying on a long table, in the middle of the otherwise empty room. He read it out.

"It isn't magic," said Alicia slowly after a moment. "It's logic."

Charlie looked at her nervously. "Ok, so there are three bottles of poison here, two of wine, one to get us safely through the black fire and one gets us back through the purple flames."

"Yes," said Alicia, thinking hard.

It took them both a few moments to work out the puzzle but after a few minutes, they had worked out the answer.

"So this rounded bottle will take us back through the purple flames," said Alicia, pointing to the bottle at the end of the line. "And the smallest bottle will take us through the black flames."

Charlie nodded, his face serious. "There's only enough in that bottle for one of us," he said slowly, knowing exactly what Alicia was going to say. "I'll take it," he said quickly.

Almost at once predictably, Alicia disagreed. "No, no I'll take it. You go back and get help. Come on, I got you into this mess. It was my idea to come."

But Charlie was already shaking his head. "Don't be silly," he said. "I'm going of course. What kind of friend would I be if I let you go?"

"One that listen to a friend's wishes," Alicia said, her temper flaring. "I'm going."

"It's too dangerous_;_ I'm going," Charlie contradicted.

"No I am."

"No you're not. Stop being stubborn."

"I'm not stubborn. You're just being stupid."

The two of them glared at each other.

Then suddenly Charlie shot out a hand and snatched the tiny bottle from the table, and before Alicia could do anything about it, downed it in one mouthful.

He put the bottle down and shuddered. Alicia watched him tentatively. "It's not poison, is it?" she asked anxiously, her anger momentarily forgotten.

He shook his head.

Then she remembered her anger. "What did you do that for?" she growled. "I was supposed to go through."

Charlie put a hand on her arm gently. "Just go and get Dumbledore. Please," he pleaded. And she gave in.

"Alright," she said, taking a long drink from the round bottle. "Be careful," she said, and she turned around and walked through the purple fire, turning round briefly to look at Charlie who watched her go.

Charlie took a deep breath before striding forward through the flickering black flames into the last chamber.

* * *

"You stay here with Ron; I'll go and get Dumbledore," Alicia shouted to Hermione, as she sprinted back through the rooms.

Hermione looked up, her face white and anxious. She nodded and turned back to Ron.

Alicia sprinted through the rooms, gasping and nursing the stitch in her side.

Dumbledore. She needed to find Dumbledore.

She sprinted into the flying keys room and grabbed the ancient broom. Mounting it, she soared through the room and up through the trapdoor. She ignored the dog as its heads snapped up in surprise as she blasted through the trapdoor.

She ripped open the door and tore down the corridor. Just as she was careering along the third floor corridor, she collided hard with something coming very quickly the other way.

"Professor Dumbledore," she exclaimed, trying desperately to get the words out and in her haste forgetting to apologise. For the first time, he looked urgent. "It's Harry…and Charlie. They've both gone through the…the flames and they're going to…"

Dumbledore merely nodded and hurried off towards the trapdoor. At that moment the door burst open and Hermione came scurrying out, supporting Ron.

"Perhaps you'd better accompany Miss Granger and Mr Weasley to the Hospital Wing," he called as he sprinted off.

* * *

"Quirrell?" Charlie exclaimed as he stepped into the last chamber. A quick glance around the room took in Harry, bound tightly with ropes and Professor Quirrell, the most unlikely of villains, standing by a strange looking mirror.

Quirrell whirled around at the sound of Charlie's voice.

"Oh not another one," he said, whipping out his wand and casting ropes around Charlie too. They wrapped themselves tightly around his body. Harry looked desperately at Charlie, who could only look back helplessly.

Quirrell was talking. Harry, to Charlie's admiration, kept Quirrell doing so, as bravely as he could.

"What does the Mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!" Quirrell was saying.

Charlie held his breath. He knew exactly how the Mirror worked. But he could not let Quirrell know that.

Then, to Charlie's horror and astonishment, a voice answered and it almost seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"Use the boy," it said." Use the boy."

Charlie's eyes widened in fear. Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Potter- come here," he snapped.

Harry stumbled forward as the ropes binding him fell off.

"Look in the Mirror and tell me what you see."

Charlie knew exactly what Harry would see and he could do nothing but watch as Harry tried to do his best to lie.

Charlie tried to inch his wand out of his pocket but the bindings were too tight.

The voice hissed: "No, not that one, the other one."

And suddenly everything seemed to happen at once.

Quirrell turned slowly to Charlie and clapped his hands and the ropes fell off. At that moment, Charlie whipped his wand up and screamed: "Stupefy!" At the same time, Harry tried to make a break for it.

The spell missed Quirrell who turned to Charlie, with a look of pure venom in his eyes. Charlie darted behind the Mirror, just as Quirrell made a slashing movement with his wand. A streak of purple fire hit Charlie in the chest, half of the curse, the other half smashing the corner of the Mirror.

Charlie crumpled to the ground, slipping out of consciousness. The last thing he saw as his vision faded was Quirrell slowly unravelling his turban to reveal the most terrifying face Charlie had ever seen. Then everything blacked out and his head slammed into the ground.

* * *

"Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey! I think he's awake," an annoying loud voice yelled, seemingly right beside his ear.

"Go away," he said, but the person did not seem to hear. "Shut up."

"Charlie!" the person shook his arm vigorously. Charlie wanted to hit them but his arms didn't seem to obey him. "Open your eyes!" the voice commanded.

He struggled to raise his lids, opening them slowly and flinching back as the bright light hit his eyes.

A grinning face came into view. It was Alicia.

"You're awake!" she said joyfully.

"I am _now,_" he said crossly, but the effect was overall rather pathetic as it only came out as a croak.

"There, there Mr Weasley, lie back down; you've had quite enough damage done already. Can't have you doing any more," Madam Pomfrey muttered, coming into the room and rearranging his bedcovers.

She poured a potion carefully in a cup and handed it to him. He looked at it warily. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Two days," said Madam Pomfrey, almost with an air of disapproval. "Now come on, drink up Mr Weasley. You're not going to cure yourself," she said sternly and bustled from the room, muttering and tutting as she went.

"What happened? Is Harry alright?" Charlie began anxiously but Alicia quickly calmed him down.

"It's all alright," she soothed. "Harry's just fine. And so is the Stone. Dumbledore managed to get there in time to save it and Harry too. He said that _you're_ lucky to be alive. Not only was that curse lethal, but You-Know-Who knew that you knew the secret of the Mirror. Dumbledore told me he's a Legilli-something."

"It was You-Know-Who?" Charlie gasped. "But he's dead, isn't he?"

"Not anymore. Apparently he attached himself to Quirrell's soul and lived on the back of his head for a year," Alicia said, nodding her head seriously, then she burst into laughter.

Charlie looked at her in helpless surprise. "Something amusing?"

"It's…just so…funny…when you think….about it and…" she gasped, dissolving again into peals of laughter.

"Er, Madam Pomfrey," said Charlie, in alarm. "I think there's something wrong with Alicia."

Alicia snorted and wiped her eyes. "Please excuse me for a moment," she said, attempting to compose herself.

"Are you _quite _done?" Charlie asked impatiently. "I want to know what happened."

"Sorry," Alicia said, putting on as straight a face as she could muster. "So after I left you, I ran straight into Dumbledore on the third floor corridor; he was already on his way. Dumbledore arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off Harry and save the Stone. And the curse that Quirrell performed on you, because it only half hit you, you didn't die immediately, but too much longer and you might have been past the reach of Healers' help."

"And what's going to happen to the Stone now?" Charlie asked, wincing and rubbing his chest as he sat up.

"Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel have decided to destroy it," Alicia told him, relating the conversation she herself had had with Dumbledore.

"Where's Harry?" Charlie said suddenly.

Alicia nodded over to the other side of the Hospital Wing, where a messy haired boy was fast asleep.

"He alright?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, he's ok. I don't think almost being strangled by Quirrell helped him much though. Poor boy," she said softly. "He's been through a lot already."

The sound of loud familiar voices suddenly drifted through the window. "Ah," said Alicia knowingly. "Your parents are here."

"They are?" Charlie sounded surprised. "But I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be in Romania! What am I going to-"

"Don't you think they already asked that question when they found you in the Mirror chamber, half-dead? I, of course, always your saviour, made your excuses. You came back to visit because you missed me so dreadfully," she said, smirking a little.

Charlie's eyes bugged out. "I what?"

At that moment, Professor Dumbledore came striding into the room accompanied by Professor McGonagall and Molly and Arthur.

"Ah I see you're awake," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling down at Charlie.

Professor McGonagall was looking at Charlie disapprovingly, her lips pursed.

"Always at the centre of trouble, Mr Weasley," she muttered crossly. "Why are they _always _members of my house? Even a student who I was under the impression was in Romania doing a once in a lifetime work experience manages to magically appear at Hogwarts and get himself into trouble. Honestly, I really ought to-"

"Alright Minerva, let the boy recover. You can deal with him later," Dumbledore said chuckling.

Molly swooped down on Charlie, hugging him tightly. "You stupid boy! What were you thinking?" she said, sobbing slightly. "We were so worried about you."

Charlie tried to extricate himself from his mother's embrace with some difficulty, and a wicked smirk spread across his face.

"It was Alicia's idea," he said, pointing an accusing finger at her. She gaped in surprise and then her eyes narrowed.

"Don't be silly, dear. Of course it wasn't Alicia's fault. She went to save you after all and she found Dumbledore. Really Charlie, you should be more grateful. You might not be here if not for her," Molly scolded, looking fondly at Alicia.

Charlie gaped, outraged. "Even when it's all her fault, she still…" he muttered angrily.

"Hush Mr Weasley," scolded Madam Pomfrey, coming into the room. "You're supposed to be resting."

"We'd better go, dear," said Molly. "But we'll see you in a week's time when school finishes. Oh yes, and you're coming to stay, aren't you Alicia, dear? Won't that be lovely, Charlie?"

"Yes, won't it?" said Alicia, smiling sweetly at him.

Charlie scowled.

"Bye dear," Molly said, as she and Arthur gave Alicia a hug. "See you soon. Take care of Charlie. Try and keep him out of trouble. I know it's only a week, but his idiocy never ceases to surprise me."

"Of course, Mrs Weasley. I know how he is. Such a handful," Alicia grinned superiorly at Charlie, who glowered.

"Now Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore. "We've sent a letter to the reserve, explaining your absence. They fully understand and there will no punishment for that particular bit of rule breaking."

Charlie looked pleased. McGonagall however did not. "I hardly think that's fair-" she began but Dumbledore cut her off.

"Young love is not to be punished, Minerva," Dumbledore said sternly. He turned to Charlie with a sympathetic look. "It happens even to the best of us, Mr Weasley," he said, as they left the Hospital Wing.

Charlie's jaw dropped. "I…but…I don't…_you_," he spluttered, gaping like an indignant goldfish.

Alicia burst out laughing and her laughing fit only worsened when she caught sight of Charlie scowling murderously at her. She just grinned and patted him condescendingly on the head. "Even the best of us, Weasley, even the best of us," she said, with another snort of laughter.

Charlie was seething and he snatched his wand from his bedside table, ready to hex Alicia into next century, when Madam Pomfrey unfortunately came out of her office, to see Alicia in fits of laughter and Charlie, wand out, out of bed.

"Mr Weasley!" she bellowed, from across the Wing. "What on earth are you doing?"

He dropped his wand sheepishly. "Nothing, Madam Pomfrey. I'm healing," he said meekly and clambered back into bed, still glaring daggers at Alicia, who was doubled up with laughter.

"And you, Miss Spinnet, out. OUT!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, forming a rather striking resemblance to Madam Pince, though Alicia thought that this probably wasn't the time to point it out.

She left the room hastily, still chuckling to herself at Charlie's outraged face.

* * *

"Wow, another year gone. We'll be fourth years next year," said Angelina, as she and Alicia sat on the train home with Katie Bell. They were in a compartment with Fred, George and a few of their dorm mates, as well as Charlie and his friends. Needless to say, it was crowded.

"And what wonderful fourth years you'll be," Charlie said sarcastically, smirking over from his seat opposite Alicia.

Alicia narrowed her eyes at him. "Better than the Sixth Year_ you're_ going to make," she retorted. "You're actually going to have to obey some rules…you know, take a bit of responsibility."

"Nah, course not," Charlie said airily. "We don't do responsibility, do we Sam?"

Sam Thompson shook his head at his friend in mock disapproval. "You don't perhaps, but I, however was a Prefect this year whilst you were off slacking and fooling around with Romanian girls."

Alicia frowned as Charlie chuckled.

"Ah we'll see. Maybe Dumbledore will lose his head and make Robbie a Prefect next year," Charlie said.

When they arrived, the platform was very crowded. Alicia caught sight of a black haired boy with green eyes behind round glasses, standing alone.

"Hey Harry," she said, coming up to him. "You alright?"

He turned round and smiled when he saw her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just can't believe I'm going back to the Muggles for the summer though. I don't want to leave Hogwarts."

He looked sad. She patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it. You coming to stay at the Burrow in August?"

Harry looked more cheerful. "Yeah, so I guess I'll see you there."

She grinned. "Have a good summer, Harry," she said, giving him a hug.

"Bye Alicia."

Alicia caught sight of her parents waving from the other side of the platform. She made her way through the crowds with difficulty.

"Hi Mum, hi Dad," she said, hugging them as she reached them.

"Hello dear, how was school this year?" her mother said, as her dad took her bags. "Anything exciting happen?"

Alicia shrugged. "No, nothing much. You know, same old same old."

There was a loud snort from behind her. She whirled round to see Charlie smirking at her.

"Oh hello Charlie dear," Mrs Spinnet said, smiling affectionately at him.

"Hello Mrs Spinnet," he grinned. "How nice to see you."

"So how was your work experience?" Alicia's dad said, interestedly. "I hear you went to Romania…"

And the three of them launched into a deep discussion about it.

Alicia groaned. She loved her parents but two things about them really annoyed her.

Firstly, they were completely obsessed with the wizarding world. Anything and everything.

And secondly, they absolutely loved Charlie.

Alicia rolled her eyes. Just typical.

* * *

**A/N.** It's Christmas Eve! I'm currently working on fourth year, so the next chapter should be up some time in early January I should think. Thanks everyone for reading! Merry Christmas to you all.


	21. Fourth Year: A Real Muggle

_**A/N.**__ Sorry about the slight delay…I've been unfortunately busy with exams. So, for fourth year, I decided to do just snapshots of what happens to Alicia and the crew. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 21- Fourth Year: A Real Muggle**

**

* * *

**

"I cannot believe they did that," Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in despair, as she watched the rest of the Gryffindor house marvel and cheer as Harry and Ron entered the Common Room. "A flying car? Really?"

Angelina looked warily at Alicia. "You're not going to get mad, are you?" she asked nervously. She'd had first-hand experience of Alicia's quick temper. But it never lasted long. She'd never seen Alicia get properly angry.

Alicia looked up at Angelina and a ghost of a smile formed on her lips. "No, I'm not going to get mad. It's nothing to do with me, is it? It's their problem, not mine."

She scrutinised Angelina's expression, which was somewhere between nervousness and amusement.

Alicia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why does everybody look at me as if I'm about to fly off the handle any time anyone does something that breaks the rules? Am I that bad?"

Angelina smirked a little. "Yes."

Alicia made an indignant noise and restrained herself from stamping her foot in irritation. "Alright, alright. So maybe I am a little uptight sometimes."

Angelina snorted. "Yeah just a little."

Alicia sighed again and watched Charlie clapping Harry on the back with admiration, with a displeased frown forming on her face.

Harry glanced over and caught her eye at that moment. Needless to say, he looked away somewhat hastily, a guilty look on his face.

* * *

"I still cannot believe they made _you_ Prefect. I mean, of all the people…"

"Better believe it; I've got the badge to prove it. And you, my dear Alicia, are out after hours. I'm afraid that's a detention for you Miss Spinnet. It's not looking good, is it? Two days back at school and already a detention on the cards. Tut tut."

"You wouldn't dare, Charlie Weasley."

"Wouldn't I?" His eyes glinted wickedly.

"You haven't got the guts."

"I have plenty of guts, thank you."

"Would you like me to remove some of them for you?"

"Threats will get you nowhere, young Alicia."

"Oh sometimes, I really just-"

"Temper, temper."

"I'll give you temper-"

Alicia whipped out her wand and pointed it in his face. But quick as a flash, he too had whipped out his wand and held it up to her neck. She slowly backed into the wall.

His face neared hers and his eyes were sparkling with humour. "Any statements you'd like to withdraw?"

"Oh, you're just- you're really enjoying this, aren't you Weasley?"

"Yep."

She fell silent, her lips pressed together in a stubborn line. Charlie tapped his foot impatiently.

"I'm waiting."

She turned her head away petulantly. He turned her head back to face him with the tip of his wand. She glared at him.

"I'm not withdrawing anything."

"Well ok then, detention it is-"

"Oh alright, alright. I apologise for my comments about your guts."

"Well it's a start," he said, removing his wand.

She glowered and pushed him away.

"With me as Prefect this year, you're going to have to learn some respect," Charlie grinned.

Alicia gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to smack him in the mouth.

* * *

"Double Defence against the Dark Arts this morning," Angelina said cheerfully at breakfast over her cereal.

"Double Professor Lockhart," Alicia sighed happily, a dreamy look stealing over her face.

"Double brainless git," came an amused voice at her ear. Charlie Weasley squeezed into the seat beside her.

"The imbecile doesn't even know a Hinkypunk from a Grindylow," he said, reaching over to grab some toast. "The guy's got about the intelligence of a Flobberworm."

Alicia and Angelina gaped at Charlie, clearly scandalised. George snorted from across the table and grinned at his older brother.

"_Professor_ Lockhart is one of the most brilliant, most talented wizards of our generation," Angelina said indignantly.

Charlie gave a loud snort. "If by brilliant and most talented, you mean someone who succeeds at failing every spell he attempts, then yes, I agree."

"I assume you're talking about our _wonderful_ new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher," said Fred, sitting down opposite them, a broad smirk on his face.

"Just the one," said Charlie. "I've been contemplating about how best to get a Fire Crab into his office. My hope is that it'll burn off his ridiculous hair."

"Honestly Charlie, do you ever say _anything_ that doesn't involve some strange and dangerous magical creature?" Alicia huffed, rifling through her copy of the Daily Prophet irritably, clearly still offended by his ridiculing of the "wonderful" Professor Lockhart.

"Never, love," he grinned, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth. "Catch you later," he said, snatching the copy of the Daily Prophet from her hands and standing up. "Wouldn't want to be late for my first day as Prefect, would I?"

Alicia scowled at his retreating back.

* * *

"What's happening?" Ron asked, coming over. "Why aren't you playing, Harry? And what's he doing here?"

He and Hermione looked at the rest of the Gryffindor team for an answer. They all stood helplessly in a huddle opposite the group of Slytherins all clutching their gleaming new brooms.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," Malfoy said, his pale pointed face curving into a nasty smirk. Alicia wanted to hex him but she could feel Fred's slightly restraining hand on her arm. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team.

"Good, aren't they? But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives, I expect a museum would bid for them."

The Gryffindor team clenched their fists as the Slytherins howled with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in. _They_ got in on pure talent," Hermione piped up sharply.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy Mudblood," Malfoy spat.

At this, there was uproar. Fred and George lunged towards Malfoy in fury, Wood went purple with rage, Angelina slapped Flint who was guffawing loudly hard across the cheek and Alicia shrieked; "How dare you!"

Suddenly there was a bang and a jet of green light from Ron's wand seemed to fire backwards and hit him in the stomach. There was a moment's silence.

Then Ron belched loudly and half a dozen slugs dribbled out of his mouth. Alicia clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. Fred and George gave simultaneous exclamations of revulsion.

The Slytherins burst into hysterical laughter as Harry and Hermione hastily ushered Ron towards Hagrid's.

Alicia looked at Angelina who was clearly trying very hard not to laugh. Alicia's lips twitched. But she held it back.

"Come on," she said and jerked her head towards Hagrid's. "We'd better see if he's ok."

Angelina nodded and they hurried off. But as they did so, a peculiar fit of hysterical giggles seemed to overcome them.

* * *

"I can't believe McGonagall! A foot of parchment on animating objects! It's going to take me-" George broke off in his irritable rant and his face went pale.

Alicia frowned. "George, what is i…" she trailed off as she caught sight of what he was staring at over the heads of the people in the crowd.

Angelina gave a gasp of horror and put a hand over her mouth in fright.

For upon the wall, hanging from the torch bracket, was the stiff form of Mrs. Norris. And above it, in great shimmering letters, were the words:

THE CHAMBER HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Alicia felt a mixture of revulsion and fear. Who would do this?

Suddenly a voice piped up in the silent crowd. "Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

It was Malfoy.

Alicia suddenly felt a tight grip on her forearm and turned in surprise to see Charlie, his eyes, normally twinkling with amusement, wide with fear.

* * *

"Charlie?"

Alicia sat down beside him in the library, pushing the dozen scrolls off her seat.

"Mm?" he said, not looking up from his scribbling.

"Charlie, I have something important to talk to you about," Alicia said.

Charlie looked up briefly. But she could tell he was distracted.

"It's Ginny, I'm worried about her."

Charlie looked surprised and went back to scratching out an essay with his quill. "Really? What's wrong with her?"

Alicia's eyes widened. "Haven't you noticed?"

"No, can't say I have," he murmured, flipping through one of his textbooks.

Alicia sighed in annoyance. "Well, she's been acting very strangely and I'm worried about her."

"Mm, yeah."

Now he really wasn't listening to her.

"Charlie!"

His head whipped up at the sound of his name said with such irritation and force. "What?"

"Don't you care about your sister?"

"Yes, of course I do. But I'm sure she's fine. Don't worry about it Ali." And he promptly turned back to his books.

Alicia stood up, seething with infuriation. That boy really got on her nerves sometimes.

* * *

"Alicia, where are you going?" Charlie called after her, as she left dinner early.

"I don't know. Somewhere you're not," she snapped back, not turning her head.

He hurried to catch up with her. "Alicia, what exactly have I done wrong? You've been avoiding me all day."

"Sometimes Charlie, I just can't bear the sight of you, ok? Is that what you wanted to hear?" she said in exasperation.

He looked confused. "What?"

"Why wouldn't you take me seriously when I tried to speak to you about Ginny?"

"I don't know- I was busy. NEWT work is really hard, Al, and Prefect duties have really been taking a toll on me."

"That's your excuse? I get that you're busy, but you should always have time for your sister."

"Alright," Charlie resigned. "I'm sorry, ok? You're right. I'll keep a better eye on Ginny, make sure she's ok."

Alicia's icy expression softened. "Thank you."

* * *

"These attacks are getting worse and worse," Charlie muttered to Fred one blustery evening in the Common Room. "I'm really worried."

"About Alicia?" Fred voiced the unspoken words.

"Yes."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm just going to make sure she doesn't go anywhere alone."

"I can help with that. And I'm sure George will too."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Good morning, Alicia," Charlie said, darting out of the Common Room behind her as she left to head towards Charms.

"Good morning Charlie," she replied, somewhat wary of his falsely cheerful tone. "What are you doing here?"

"Just walking with my best pal," he replied unconvincingly.

"But you have Care of Magical Creatures," she pointed out. "I have Charms."

"Well, I thought I'd make a little detour to escort you there." He gave her a dazzling smile in an attempt to look innocent.

But Alicia wasn't fooled for one second. "Is this about the attacks?"

Charlie sighed.

"Because I'm fine. I don't need you to protect me. I'm not worried and I'm not going to get attacked."

"How can you know that?"

"Oh stop fretting, you sound like a girl," she said, knowing that it would annoy him enough to get rid of him, and walked off in the direction of Charms.

* * *

"I can't bear this infernal protection I have everywhere I go," Alicia sighed to Angelina. "They're sticking to me like bloody Limpets. I can't have a moments' peace."

Angelina grinned at her friend's exasperation. "Alright, want me to distract them while you sneak out somewhere?"

"I will be forever grateful."

Angelina grinned again and strolled over to where Charlie, Fred and George were sitting playing Wizard's Chess.

Alicia waited for them to be distracted and then she quietly slipped out of the Common Room.

It was nice to be without one of those irritating red heads for once. She decided to take a stroll down to the kitchens where she now visited regularly since Charlie had told her about them.

"Protection," she scoffed to herself. "Who do they think I am? A helpless Muggle or something?"

* * *

Fred and George stepped into the Common Room, their faces solemn. Angelina and Katie looked up at them, questioning them with their eyes.

"It's Alicia," Fred said, his voice hollow and dead. "She's been attacked."

There was a strangled noise from behind them and a figure stumbled out of the portrait hole.

Two hours later, he returned, soaked from the rain and shivering.

"Charlie, where have you been?" his best friend Sam asked, taking in his soaked appearance.

"Flying," Charlie grunted, flinging himself down beside the fire.

Angelina and George came over to sit beside him, putting a blanket around his shivering body.

"Have you been to visit her?" Angelina asked tentatively.

Charlie turned his head away. "I couldn't," he whispered. "I couldn't bear to see it."

"I think you should," Angelina said softly. "She'd want you to."

"But she won't know I'm there."

"Yes, but I know she'd want to you be there."

Charlie sighed and got up slowly.

* * *

"Alicia?" Charlie whispered tentatively, as he stepped into the room. The Hospital Wing was dark and silent. It was almost eerie in the darkness.

A shaft of moonlight shone through one of the windows, illuminating the beds below.

Charlie's breath caught as he saw Alicia, lying still, pale and stiff on the bed. The moonlight made her look even paler and deathlike.

He stepped towards the bed and sat down beside it, taking one of her cold, still hands in his.

"It's all my fault," he whispered, half to himself, half to her, though he knew she couldn't hear him. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly as he said it, her lips seemed to move. He knew it must have been a trick of the light but he could have sworn he had glimpsed a smile on her face.

* * *

George burst into the Library. "Dumbledore's gone!"

A dozen faces looked up in shock and fear. "He's what?" gasped Katie from where she was sitting working on her Potions essay.

"He's gone. The governors suspended him."

"How dare they? Not after all these attacks! There's going to be attacks every day with Dumbledore gone!" Angelina shrieked, her face red with fury. "How could they do this?"

"Calm down, Ange," said George soothingly, putting an arm round her.

"I'm sorry; it's just…ever since Alicia-"

"I know," said George. "We all miss her. But Professor Sprout says the Mandrakes are nearly ready."

* * *

"Fred, George, Charlie, could you please come with me?" A voice sounded from the other end of the library. It was McGonagall. Her face was ghostly pale and her normally brisk voice shook.

Charlie stood up, his eyes fearful. "What is it?"

"I'll…I'll explain in my office," McGonagall said, her voice trembling. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

* * *

It was the worst day of Charlie's life. Never before had he felt so awful. He was torn with fear; his only sister. He could not bear it. And the memory of Alicia, lying still and pale in the Hospital Wing did nothing to ease his dread.

"She was right," he whispered to himself, over and over, as he sat with Harry and his brothers in the silent Common Room. "I should have kept a closer eye on Ginny."

This thought went round and round his mind and every time he thought it, it was like a fresh stab of a knife, twisting his insides. A terrible feeling of guilt haunted him the whole day.

He was so wrapped up in his guilt and agony that he barely noticed Ron and Harry leaving. He simply sat with his head in his hands.

* * *

"Ginny!" He flung his arms around her, a feeling of immense and overwhelming relief and joy flooding through him.

Charlie looked at her carefully, at her pale thin face and her trembling body. He hugged her again. "You're safe," he whispered.

"Miss Weasley should go up to the Hospital Wing straight away," Dumbledore said. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort."

Mrs Weasley got up to take Ginny out but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop her. "I think you should stay and hear the boys' story, Molly," he said gently. She sat down again, nodding her head but looking anxiously at Ginny.

As if answering her worries, Dumbledore said: "Perhaps Mr Weasley can take Miss Weasley up to the hospital wing," he gestured to Charlie, whose arms were still tightly around Ginny, protectively. "Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice-"

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Mandrake juice?" he interrupted.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. "Yes Mr Weasley- I dare say your lovely friend Miss Spinnet will be waking up any moment now."

Charlie barely heard these words; he was already half way out the door, pulling Ginny by the hand after him.

* * *

"Happy to see me?" said Alicia, grinning up at Charlie.

"Do I look happy to see you?" Charlie glowered.

Alicia just smirked. "I know, I know, you're furious that I disobeyed you and managed to avoid your ridiculous protection scheme!"

"And just look where it got you!" Charlie exclaimed. "I think this is the perfect occasion to say…I told you so!"

"I had a nasty feeling you might say something like that," Alicia winced. "But I can say it too- I told you to keep a good eye on Ginny."

"Damn, I was hoping that wouldn't come up. Ok, so we both did stupid things. Let's call it even."

Alicia grinned, giving him a hug. "Even."

* * *

**A/N. **Hope you enjoyed these little extracts from fourth year! I'm working on sixth year as best as I can and I will do my best to post again very soon! Thank you all for reading. You are amazing.


	22. Something's Changed

**Chapter 22: Something's Changed**

* * *

"Yes, that's right, Wendy, just put that paperwork here on my desk." Ludo Bagman gestured to his already over-cluttered desk and ran a distracted hand through his blond hair.

Ludo Bagman's amused looking assistant cleared a space, with some difficulty, on his desk and put down an important looking folder, marked PRIVATE.

Bagman's boyish face was alive with delight and excitement. "You've no idea how exciting this is, Wendy," he told his assistant importantly. "Shall I tell you a secret?"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "No, Mr Bagman. If you're going to tell me the contents of that file marked _"private"_, I might suggest that you perhaps keep it…er…private?"

Bagman grinned sheepishly. "Er yes, of course, quite right, Wendy. You're quite right, as always."

Wendy smiled. "Is there anything else you need, sir?" she asked.

"No, no, that'll be all," he nodded and sat down behind his desk.

Wendy nodded and went out, closing the door marked **Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports **behind her.

Bagman sat at his desk, a joyous grin on his face. He simply could not contain his excitement. He just had to tell someone the exciting news. He opened the folder and rifled through it briefly, without too much interest. He already knew what it contained.

His eyes flickered over to the walls of his office which were covered with pictures of various Quidditch teams.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Bagman dragged his wandering mind back to the present.

"Yes, come in," he said, somewhat impatiently. The door swung open to reveal a young woman in a knee length pencil skirt and white blouse, her brown curls pinned up elegantly.

Bagman's face broke into a fond smile. "Alicia!" he said jovially. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello Mr Bagman, I was sent by Mr MacFarlan to ask if you had any more information on the search for Bertha Jorkins, sir."

"Come in, come in," Bagman said, springing up and pulling out a chair for her. "I'm afraid I haven't got any more information for Hamish, but no matter. I have some very exciting news to tell you."

Alicia's eyes widened slightly. She had a funny feeling that Bagman was about to tell her something he shouldn't. He had a tendency to do that. But she couldn't help but feel frighteningly curious.

"Yes, sir? What is it?" She smiled charmingly.

"I have just today got confirmation of a very exciting event that is about to happen at Hogwarts," he whispered dramatically and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

"What is it?" Alicia said in excitement.

"Now, now, Miss Spinnet," Bagman said, wagging his finger at her in mock disapproval. "This information is for your ears only, do you hear?"

She grinned and made a zipping motion over her mouth. "My lips are sealed, sir."

"Good, good," Bagman said, nodding his head. Then he lowered his voice. "There is to be a revival of the age old tradition of the Triwizard Tournament."

Alicia gasped. Bagman looked rather pleased at the reaction he had sparked.

"The Triwizard Tournament?" Alicia breathed. "But people have _died_ in that tournament!"

The smile on Bagman's face slipped slightly. "Don't fear, my dear girl, the rules have of course been altered, for the safety of those entering. I shall expect that you will be entering, won't you? You'll be old enough- anyone who turns seventeen by October the 31st is eligible to enter."

He looked expectantly at Alicia who was pondering it in her mind. Suddenly she smiled.

"Yes, I will. I will enter. I'm going to show people that Muggleborns are just as good as any," she said fiercely, a surge of desire for honour coming over her.

Bagman smiled affectionately at her. "I am very sure you will, my dear girl. You are as good a witch as any I've seen."

"Thank you, Mr Bagman; that's very kind."

Bagman sat back down at his desk, shuffling his papers around. "I'll be sad to lose you, my girl. You've been a valuable asset to this department these past few weeks. Are you very sure you wouldn't want to stay on to help us in the upcoming Quidditch World Cup? We're going to be very short of hands and you are so very efficient." Bagman looked at her hopefully.

But she was already shaking her head. "I'd love to, Mr Bagman but I-"

"Not even as a _paid_ intern?" Bagman interjected.

Alicia wavered slightly for a moment. It would be very useful to earn some money herself. She hated constantly relying on her parents to provide everything for her. But she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Mr Bagman, but I've promised to go to the match with my friends."

Bagman looked disappointed but he nodded. "Shame, you would have been desperately useful. Ah well, I understand. And I assure you, Alicia, should you ever wish to consider following a job in this department after you leave Hogwarts, you will be very heartily welcomed."

Alicia smiled gratefully. "Thank you, sir. I really have had a wonderful few weeks here. I'll be sad to go."

Bagman stood up again and picked up a sheaf of papers. "Give these to Mr. Simpkins, will you? Before you go?"

She nodded and took the papers. "Of course."

She turned to go.

"And remember-" Bagman piped up, as she turned the door handle. She turned. "Not a word," Bagman winked, tapping his nose.

Alicia grinned.

* * *

"Come on Angelina!" Alicia yelled up the stairs. "We're going to miss the Portkey!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Angelina's muffled voice drifted down from upstairs.

"Where's Katie?" Alicia shouted.

"I'm here," Katie said, coming into the sitting room, a large duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "Are we ready to go?"

"Guess who isn't," Alicia said, half-irritated, half-amused.

Katie grinned. "You all packed?"

"Yup, got it all here," Alicia said, waving her own bag at Katie. "And here-" she said, lifting up a heavy brown bag. "-is the tent Mr Bagman lent me."

Katie smirked. "Oh yes, as you do every day, borrow a tent from one of the most famous Quidditch players in history."

Alicia laughed. "Well, it's thanks to Mr Bagman that we've got such good seats."

"Alright, I'm here," Angelina said, coming into the room, two enormous bags in her hands.

"Merlin Angelina, how long are _you _going for? I was under the impression we were just going for two days," Katie said, eyeing her bags incredulously.

Angelina looked indignant. Alicia took one of the bags from her.

"Oopphh good gracious, Ange," Alicia said, struggling with the bag. "What's in here? Bricks?"

"It always pays to be prepared," Angelina said primly.

"For what exactly?"

Katie snorted.

"Oh shut up, you two," Angelina said, marching over to the fireplace. "Let's go- I thought we were in a hurry."

* * *

"Oliver!" Alicia grinned as she stepped out of the fireplace, brushing soot off her clothes.

"Hello you three," Oliver Wood said, grinning as he hugged the three girls. "Cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?" he smirked, gesturing towards the Portkey which was in the form of a tattered teddy bear which was now glowing blue.

They all hastily stuck a finger on it and all felt the tell-tale tug on the navel as they were wrenched from reality until they landed with a thump on a grassy hillock, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Alicia picked herself up and brushed the grass off her sweater, picking up her bag. "Where now, Oliver?" she asked, glancing around her.

Oliver frowned and pulled out a map from his backpack. "According to Ministry instructions, we should head north from here to that clump of trees." He pointed to a dark cloud of fir trees in the distance.

Alicia groaned in annoyance. "Why couldn't we have just taken a Portkey to there?" she muttered irritably.

"Think you have problems?" Angelina said scowling. "I've got to lug these two bloody great bags all the way."

"Serves you right," muttered Alicia under her breath with a smirk.

"It's Ministry regulations," Oliver explained, hoisting Katie's bag onto his back on top of his own.

Alicia nodded in understanding. Angelina just exclaimed angrily. "Oi! Why don't I get help carrying _my _bag?" she asked indignantly, gesturing to the bag of Katie's Oliver had just taken.

Oliver grinned. "Because, dear Ange, you are perfectly capable of managing just fine on your own."

Angelina began to huff.

"And it'll teach you a lesson," Oliver added. Katie and Alicia giggled. "Come on, if we set off now, we should be there by midnight."

"What?" Angelina repeated, her face darkening dangerously.

"It's a joke, Ange, just a joke," Alicia said hastily.

"Hurry up slow coach," Oliver called back. There was an extremely disgruntled noise from behind them followed by a few expletives.

* * *

They reached camp by five o'clock and they immediately headed towards an official looking man, a shiny badge pinned to his chest.

"Excuse me, sir? We're looking for our camping space?" Alicia said politely.

The man looked down at her disdainfully. "Well, of course you are," he said coldly. He consulted his list, a look of bored indifference on his face. "Name?"

"Spinnet," Alicia said, peering interestedly over his shoulder. He threw her an annoyed look and she hastily withdrew.

"Ah yes," he said. "Here you are. Spinnet….that's campsite 4- the small patch beside the forest. I wouldn't be too relaxed if I were you," he said, smirking nastily. "There are some nasty rumours about that forest…wolves and such."

Angelina, Katie and Oliver glared at the thoroughly unpleasant man.

"That's alright," Alicia said, grinning. "Thanks for the concern. If we have any problems, I'll be sure to ask Mr Bagman personally to move us elsewhere."

She smiled in satisfaction as she saw the man's jaw drop in astonishment.

"Come on, you three," she said to the others and they swept past the grumpy looking man sniggering to themselves.

"Thank you," said Katie, snatching a map from the man's hand as she passed. He glowered at her and she smiled back sweetly.

The four of them trudged off, heavily laden down with bags.

"Here we are," said Oliver brightly.

They had reached a spot right on the edge of the wood where a small wooden sign had been knocked crookedly into the ground, reading: "Spinnet."

"Perfect," sighed Oliver. "Now, where's the tent?"

The other three looked at him sceptically. Their spot was far from perfect but they got to work setting up the tent all the same.

Their tent, once they had sorted out all the pegs and poles and groundsheets, was rather magnificent. It had been lent to Alicia by Ludo Bagman, once she had told him she was attending the World Cup. He had enthusiastically presented her with the finest of the wizarding tents.

Once they stepped inside, they appeared to step into a large four bedroomed flat with three bathrooms and a large beautifully decorated living area and kitchen.

Alicia's jaw dropped open in astonishment as she straightened up. Oliver grinned at her, coming over.

"Never seen a wizard tent before?" he grinned.

"I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. Not after nearly six years but….wow!"

They soon set about lighting a fire outside while observing the other witches and wizards nearby with interest.

"Alicia!" Alicia's head whipped up as she heard her name. A red-headed something came hurtling over.

"Fred!" she exclaimed, jumping up to hug him. "Where are you?"

"About a field away but I came over in search of the water tap. Come on, come and see the family," he said, grabbing her arm.

"No, I have to tend the fire," she said turning back to her sad looking flame that was flickering perilously in the breeze.

Fred snorted. "Call that a fire?

"I'm working on it," Alicia retorted, somewhat defensively.

Fred rolled his eyes at her obstinacy. "Come on, come and have dinner with us."

"Oh alright," Alicia conceded, as her feeble flame flickered and died as a particularly violent gust of wind whistled through the trees. "I'll get the others."

* * *

"Oi! Dad! Look who's here!" Fred yelled, as he approached the Weasley tent, dragging Alicia by the arm. Alicia smiled and waved to Mr Weasley and Ginny who were sitting outside. Her eyes fell on the little wooden sign hammered into the ground beside the tent. She snorted. It read: "Weezly."

"Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Oliver, how lovely to see you four," Mr Weasley said, smiling, getting up to greet them. "We're just about ready for dinner."

"Boys!" he yelled to the tent behind him. "And Hermione!" he added after a pause.

Bill, George, Ron, Harry and Hermione spilled out of the tent, smiling and greeting the four newcomers.

Mr Weasley sighed in exasperation. "Where's Percy?" he muttered, irritated.

"Got an urgent call from Mr Crouch, so he tells us," said Bill, winking at Alicia. "Who knows what that's all about? But as it's Percy, he obviously hurried off looking very important. Come on, let's not wait."

He started surreptitious conjuring chairs and crockery with his wand behind his back. Mr Weasley gave him a warning look.

"Where's Charlie?" asked Alicia, looking around for the familiar red brown hair and twinkling blue eyes.

Ron shrugged.

"Don't know. Probably off chatting up some Veela," grinned Bill, nudging George, who laughed.

Alicia didn't laugh. A frown creased her forehead. Fred noticed. "They're just kidding, Ali," he murmured to her.

"I know," Alicia said, sounding a touch defensive.

"Ah speak of the devil!" said Bill, glancing up from the stove. "Hurry up Charlie!"

Alicia glanced up and caught sight of Charlie strolling towards them, hands thrust deep into pockets, trademark grin on his face.

She felt her heart gave a strange flip as she saw him. He was looking…..well. Very well indeed. His skin was very tanned from what she could only presume was hours under the Romanian sun. He was looking very muscular, his hair was longer and his eyes brighter, even bluer than ever if that was possible.

Alicia stared at him for a moment, unable to drag her eyes away. Then she shook herself hastily. What is _wrong_ with me? she thought to herself. Come on, it's just _Charlie_, she told herself firmly, hurriedly casting her eyes down before they could betray her.

"What? Don't I get a hug?" Charlie's amused voice said. Alicia looked up to see him grinning down at her.

"Of course," she said, getting up and hugging him hastily. But something felt different. And she couldn't stop herself noticing just how good he smelt. Or how nice it felt when he held her just a bit closer than normal.

Stop it! she thought to herself, feeling scandalised. What on earth is going on? Charlie had always been attractive; she knew that, but she'd never felt anything like this before. I need a _drink_, she thought, quickly entering the tent and pulling out a bottle of Firewhisky.

* * *

**A/N. **So sorry that it's been so long! Had a bit of momentary writer's block but I'm glad to say that this story is back on the road. Updates should hopefully be more frequent from here on :)


	23. The Quidditch World Cup

**Chapter 23: The Quidditch World Cup**

* * *

"Come on you lot, the match is going to start in twenty minutes and we have to find our seats," Mr Weasley called.

"Coming, dad!" Ron yelled, as he, Harry and Hermione followed Fred, George, Ginny, Oliver and Charlie out of the tent.

"Charlie!" Alicia hissed, pulling him back, to walk some distance behind the others, who were all chattering excitedly. "I have something to tell you."

Charlie grinned. "Is it a secret?"

Alicia bit her lip.

"Alicia Spinnet! What would your mother say? Spreading secrets!" Charlie smirked, as he linked arms with her as they headed towards the magnificent stadium in front of them. Her heart thudded slightly. She ignored it.

"Shut up, Charlie. Just listen. So, when I was working as an intern last week for Ludo Bagman, he told me some top secret classified information."

Charlie snorted. "Can't be that top-secret if he goes around telling plebs like you," he smirked. Alicia tried to ignore the swooping feeling in her stomach when he smirked at her. She simply couldn't understand it. This was not normal. Was she going crazy? What had changed since she last saw him?

"Oi! I'll have you know that I'm a valuable asset to Mr Bagman," she said indignantly as Charlie grabbed a bright green badge from one of the vendors as they passed, flicking him a gold coin.

"Here," he said, pinning it to her shirt.

"How kind of you," Alicia said, smiling down at the glaringly bright badge which was now shouting the names of the Irish Quidditch players at her in a loud Irish accent. Then she smirked. "But what if I had been supporting Bulgaria?"

"You're not, are you?" Charlie asked, looking scandalised.

"Lynch! Mullet! MORAN!" shrieked the badge in an increasingly shrill manner.

"Course not," laughed Alicia.

"Glad to hear it. What were you saying?"

"I was telling you what a valuable asset I am to-"

"No, not about that," Charlie smirked. "I've already heard all about that." He rolled his eyes.

Alicia resisted the urge to stomp on his foot. "This classified information is about a very special event that about to happen at-"

"Oh, you mean the Triwizard Tournament?" Charlie interrupted.

"How do you know about that?" she demanded, turning to look at him, her mouth agape. "That's top secret, that is. Did Angelina tell you? She did, didn't she? Honestly, I should have never told her. That girl can't keep her abnormally large-"

Charlie abruptly put a hand over her mouth, silencing her outburst. "No, Ange didn't tell me. I already knew." He looked rather smug.

Alicia frowned at him, prying his hand from her mouth. "How?"

"The dragon reserve I've been working on for the last three weeks of the summer, you know the one in Romania. Well, they're supplying the-"

He broke off suddenly and looked rather guilty, as if he'd said too much.

"Supplying the what?" Alicia said, at once.

Charlie scratched his head sheepishly. "Nothing."

Alicia just gave him a look. "Out with it, Weasley."

Charlie gave a resigned sigh. "You understand you can't tell anyone this. Not even Angelina?"

"Yes, yes, alright, I won't," Alicia said impatiently.

"We're supplying _dragons_ to be used for the first task," he said slowly, watching Alicia's face intently.

She looked shocked. "Dragons?" she echoed. "That's the first task?"

Charlie smiled. "Yes. It's a tough tournament, the Triwizard. Even with the new rules, it's no walk in the park."

"Well of course it's not," Alicia said. "I didn't expect it to be."

Charlie came to a halt abruptly, pulling his arm from Alicia's. "Hang on….you're not thinking of entering, are you?" His voice was worried and somewhat incredulous.

"Well, why not?" Alicia asked.

"Because it's dangerous!" Charlie burst out, unable to contain himself.

"So?" Alicia could feel her temper bubbling at the edges but she did her best to contain it. She forgot all about her earlier confused feelings about seeing Charlie again, as her annoyance set in.

"You can't enter!" Charlie said firmly. "It's far too risky!"

"What do you mean?" Alicia whispered dangerously.

"Come on, Al, think about it. Dragons. Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?" Charlie was struggling to keep the alarm from his voice.

"You're not scared of them…why should I be?" Alicia said stubbornly.

"I won't let you enter." Charlie's voice was steady and commanding.

Alicia turned to look at him. "Are you telling me what I can and can't do?" she asked, feeling her temper rise uncontrollably.

Charlie seemed to realise the danger of his situation and the high probability of the loss of a limb or worse.

"Come on, Ali, you can't seriously be considering-"

"Why not, Charlie? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't do the Tournament! Am I not good enough? Is that it?" She felt angry tears spring to her eyes. She felt stupid. Why was she so upset? What did it matter what he thought? But she couldn't fight the overwhelming feeling of disappointment and hurt she felt. Why didn't he think she was capable?

"I've told you already, Al, it's too dange-"

"Save it," Alicia snapped, turning away hastily before he could see her tears and hurrying after the others.

* * *

Charlie didn't get another opportunity to speak to Alicia throughout the match. The cheering and noises of the crowd was so loud they had to shout to make themselves heard.

After the match they all headed back to the Weasley tent for hot chocolate around the blazing fire which looked suspiciously as though it had been conjured by magic.

Charlie could not help but feel like Alicia was avoiding him. Whenever he looked over at her, she hastily diverted her gaze elsewhere and she did not speak to him any more than was strictly necessary.

As their watches beeped to signal it was midnight, Alicia stood up briskly. "We ought to head back to our tent," she said, looking pointedly at Angelina who was drooping onto George's shoulder. Katie was curled up by the fire, already half asleep.

Angelina, Katie and Oliver got up hastily and bade everyone goodnight.

"Would you mind just grabbing the kettle from the kitchen, Alicia?" Mr Weasley asked from his log beside the fire. "I think I'll just have a last cup of tea before bed."

"Sure," she said and ducked inside the tent to fetch it. She had barely reached the kitchen when she heard Charlie enter the tent.

"Ali," he began but she had already turned to face him and was shaking her head.

"Please, Charlie," she said, her face showing a mixture of weariness and lingering hurt from earlier. "Not now," she said, walking past him quietly.

He closed his mouth and nodded. "Goodnight," he said resignedly.

"Goodnight Charlie," she said, catching the intense look in his dark blue eyes but not understanding it.

As the tent flap swung closed, he sighed heavily and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

* * *

Screams ripped the air and bangs and shouts echoed around the tent.

"What's going on?" Alicia said, jerking from her sleep and sitting up in confusion. The tent was dark but she could just about make out the outlines of figures moving around outside the tent.

She leapt out of bed, pulling on her trainers and a sweater and hurried out of her bedroom.

She collided immediately with a solid figure, toppling backwards. But the strong arms reached out and grabbed her before she fell.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed. "What's happening?" She could not keep the note of fear from her voice.

"Lumos," he muttered in a low voice and the tip of his wand ignited, illuminating his pale worried face. "Where are the others?"

"We're here, Ollie," said Katie, coming out of her room, pulling on a jumper and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Behind her was Angelina.

"I don't know what's happening," said Oliver. "I'm going to have to have a look. You stay here."

"I'll come with you," said Alicia, pulling out her wand.

Oliver knew better than to try and stop her. He pulled back the tent flap and ducked outside, followed closely by Alicia.

A terrible sight met their eyes. Everywhere was utter chaos. People were running around in the darkness, screaming and calling out to each other. Tents everywhere were on fire, the flames spreading fast. Jets of green and red light collided, showering the hills like ghastly fireworks.

Hooded, black-cloaked figures were moving around everywhere, like menacing black ghosts.

"We need to get out of here," whispered Oliver, pulling on Alicia's arm. She nodded quickly and they hurried back into the tent to fetch Angelina and Katie.

"Come on!" Alicia said. "Let's get into the woods. It'll be safer there!"

The four of them grabbed a few belongings and hurried out of the tents, making their way through the terrified crowds as best they could, trying to keep together.

Alicia clutched her wand tightly so that her knuckles ached with the effort. People bumped into her on all sides, jolting her this way and that. The darkness obscured everything and soon she was separated from the other three.

She wandered through the trees aimlessly, still desperately clutching her wand and calling out to them. Everything had gone strangely quiet. She realised she must be quite far into the forest by now.

She kept walking randomly in different directions, desperately looking around her. Every now and then, a person would run past her, tripping and stumbling in their terror, fleeing the horrific scene.

An hour passed and Alicia became tired. Her head was spinning and she was frightened. The forest was eerie and pitch black. Noises all around her made her jump violently.

She sat down against a tree and waited, for there was nothing else to do but wait. As she did so, she thought about the others. She desperately hoped they were alright. She knew Mr Weasley, Bill, Percy and Charlie would have gone to help the Ministry control the attacks. Her heart clenched as she thought of Charlie. What if something happened to him?

Suddenly, after she had been sitting silently for a few moments, there was the sound of a man's voice very close by. She jumped violently in fright and withdrew behind the tree as much as she could. The voice was low and menacing and sent a horrible chill down her spine.

It muttered something she could not understand. Then a ghastly eerie green light began to spread around her, twirling upwards to the black sky above her head.

Alicia gripped her wand and held her breath, her heart banging painfully against her ribs.

And suddenly a pair of rough hands gripped her and she screamed in fright.

"What did you see? Who did it?" The pair of hands shook her roughly and she yelled out in pain.

She could just about make out the man's face in his dim wand-light. It was a face she did not recognise. And suddenly there were other faces, surrounding her, asking questions, some shouting, some whispering and muttering to each other. But one thing was common in all of them; the look of pure panic on their faces.

"What did you see, girl?" the voice shouted urgently.

"I- I don't know. I…I didn't see anything. But I heard a voice, casting a strange spell, over there," she stammered, pointing around the tree to a clump of bushes.

The men who she now realised were from the Ministry hurried over to the spot and hastily scoured it but there was no trace of anyone having been there.

"Are you sure, girl?" the moustached man said coldly. "If you're not telling the truth, there'll be serious consequences.

"Of course she is," said a voice angrily. Charlie stepped into the wand light. Despite her previous anger at him, Alicia could not have been more relieved to see him.

She was terrified, and feared these rough and ruthless men.

"Who are _you_?" the man said rudely, turning to look at Charlie coldly.

"Charlie Weasley," Charlie said defiantly, looking the man hard in the eye.

A sort of recognition dawned on the man's face. "Ah you're Arthur's son," he said briskly.

"Which one?" muttered one of the other Ministry men. The others chuckled.

"Quiet!" said the man sharply. He turned to Alicia and Charlie. "I suggest you two get out of here before there's a full inquiry. I sincerely hope that neither of you had anything to do with this."

"How could we?" said Charlie scathingly. His eyes were hard. "We're only teenagers."

"Yes, well, you can never be too careful in these times," the man said curtly, turning away.

"Come on," Charlie said, pulling Alicia by the arm. "Let's get out of here."

And they hurried off in the direction they hoped was the way out. As soon as they were a good distance away from the men, Alicia pulled her arm from Charlie's, averting her eyes.

Charlie led Alicia through the forests and back into the campsite. It was all quiet now; the hooded wizards appeared to have disappeared but many tents were still on fire, a burning reminder of the terror of the past few hours.

"Charlie!" Mr Weasley came running towards them as they approached the Weasley's tent, which was luckily unharmed. "There you two are! Your mother is going to kill me!"

Angelina, the twins, Katie and Oliver came rushing out of the tent. "Thank Merlin you're safe!" cried Angelina, flinging her arms around Alicia.

They all hurried into the tent where Bill was putting on some tea and fetching some bandages and ice. Now that they were in the light, Alicia could see the damage. Bill had a large gash in his arm which was bleeding profusely, Percy was sporting a bloody nose and Charlie had a large bruise on his cheekbone which was swelling rapidly.

"Is everyone alright?" Mr Weasley said, looking shaken. He fetched some Firewhisky from the cupboard and started pouring out some glasses.

Alicia sat down shakily, her head whirling with the events of the past few hours, listening as Charlie told everyone what had happened with the men from the Ministry.


	24. Letters

**A/N. **Just a short chapter here. A longer, more exciting one to come next, I promise :) Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 24: Letters**

* * *

"We are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century," Dumbledore was saying, his face looking oddly grave. His expression did not seem to match his words. "It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred exclaimed loudly. There was a wave of laughter.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I am not joking, Mr Weasley, though now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer…"

"A Triwizard Tournament? Seriously?" George was saying excitedly as they all filed out of the Great Hall later that evening. "But there hasn't been one of those for-"

"Over a century," Alicia interrupted. "Yes, so Dumbledore said."

"Alright, Miss Know-It-All," Fred said, pretending to look hurt. "Just because you already knew all about it and didn't see fit to tell us."

"You know I wasn't allowed to tell you. Mr Bagman wasn't even supposed to tell me!"

"Yes, we all know how good old Ludo is at keeping secrets," said George drily. "Dad's always telling us about little things that just 'slipped out'." He and Fred snorted.

"So are you entering?" Alicia asked Angelina as they wandered up the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Angelina shrugged. "Maybe. You are, aren't I? I can tell."

She smiled at Alicia.

"Of course. Why wouldn't you?"

"If you're not old enough," came a voice from behind them. Alicia turned to see Cedric Diggory grinning at her.

"Hey Cedric," she smiled.

"Oh it's you," George said, peering out from behind Alicia, his face set in an unfriendly expression. "Of course it would be you who reminded us that we're not old enough to enter."

"Oh stop being so unfriendly, George," Angelina said, digging her elbow into his ribs. "Hey Ced… I'm guessing you're entering then."

Cedric smiled. "Yeah, going for Hufflepuff glory."

Fred snorted loudly. "Like _that'll _ever happen," he said scornfully. "Those two words don't work in the same sentence..."

Cedric just grinned good-naturedly.

"Too bad you two can't enter," he said, looking at the twins.

"Don't worry, pretty boy, we'll find a way. We always do," Fred said suddenly cheerful.

"I don't doubt it," Cedric chuckled. "You are Weasleys after all."

Fred and George looked rather pleased at this and did not make any further rude comments.

* * *

_Dear Alicia, _

_I know you didn't want to hear it but you must promise me you won't enter the Triwizard Tournament. _

_I'm not doubting your abilities. I know you're one of the best witches in your year but this is serious stuff, Ali. Dragons….and worse. It's not just a joke, or something you do on a whim. It's dangerous. You have to really know what you're signing up for. _

_Charlie_

* * *

_Alicia,_

_Ok, I get it. You're ignoring me. But I'm serious. I just wish you'd stop being so stubborn. _

_Charlie_

* * *

_Fred and George,_

_I have a favour to ask you. I know that you have now been informed of the Triwizard Tournament which is to happen at Hogwarts this year and I'm sure that you'll know that Alicia is intending to enter. I tried to warn her not to because I know how dangerous it is; especially as I have inside information about the first task. And no, I'm not going to tell you two anything._

_She won't listen to me; seems to think I'm doubting her or something stupid like that. If you care about her, please can you try to stop her from entering? She won't listen to you if you try to reason with her. Please try something...you. _

_Love Charlie _

* * *

**Dear Charlie,**

**Fred here. George leaning over my shoulder as I write this. We agree with you. We don't want Alicia to enter- we know her and the trouble she inevitably gets into. But what can we do about it? This is Alicia we're talking about. **

**And why do **_**you**_** care so much? What about us? We're your brothers. Why aren't you trying to discourage us? Don't you care for our welfare just as much?**

* * *

_Dear Fred/George_

_I can't believe that you two can't come up with something. You're Weasleys for goodness sake. _

_And in answer to your question, she's my best friend. I don't want to see her hurt. And as for you two, you do know that you can't actually enter don't you? _

_Charlie _

* * *

**As if we needed reminding. But don't you worry; we'll enter the tournament somehow.**

**As for Alicia, we'll find a way to stop her. You're right. There's nothing we can't do. **

**Love Fred and George**


	25. Puking Pastilles

**Chapter 25: Puking Pastilles**

* * *

"Come on Ali!" Angelina called. "Hurry up! The party's already started!"

"Just coming!" Alicia yelled back from the girls' Quidditch changing room. "I can't find my bloody-"

There suddenly came a yelp of pain as she stubbed her toe hard on the corner of cabinet. A stream of curses followed.

Five minutes later, she emerged from the changing room, finally fully dressed, wringing out her damp hair.

"At last," said Angelina, rolling her eyes. "Let's go."

Alicia grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder and followed Angelina up the staircase towards their Common Room.

There was a great party underway as they entered; happy Gryffindors dancing, celebrating their win over Ravenclaw, laughing and chattering away. Fred and George were at the centre of the party, surrounded by awed first and second-years.

Hermione sat on the edge of the circle, looking extremely disapproving and severe.

"Hey Hermione," Alicia said, dropping into the armchair beside her, a bottle of Butterbeer in her hand. "What's wrong?"

Hermione huffed and pushed her books and scrolls away from her in annoyance. "It's Fred and George again."

"What are they doing this time?" asked Alicia.

Hermione looked irritable. "Go see for yourself. I'm going to bed." She got up, gathered up her books indignantly and stomped off up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

Alicia looked after her in surprise.

"What's up with her?" muttered Angelina coming over.

Alicia shook her head and shrugged. "No idea. It's Hermione, isn't it? She doesn't approve of fun," she said, with a grin. She sighed and got up.

"Oi! Fred! George! What are you two doing?" Alicia yelled, pushing her way through the crowd of first-and-second years.

Fred and George looked up with identical grins at the sound of her voice.

"No need to sound like that Ali," George said with a wink. "They're just Honeydukes sweets." He held out a handful of purple and orange sweets.

Alicia looked at them suspiciously. "They're rather odd-looking. I've never seen those before," she said, eyeing Fred and George in mistrust.

"Well of course you haven't," said Fred. "You've only been to Honeydukes a few times; how can you possibly expect to have seen every sweet they sell?"

Alicia shrugged. "Here, give one over," she said, holding out her hand.

Fred tossed a sweet into her outstretched palm.

"That's horrid," she said, chewing it with a disgusted look on her face. "I don't know how they think they're going to sell many of those."

Fred and George winked at each other conspiratorially. Alicia had already wandered off to find Angelina.

* * *

"Alicia, you look terrible," Angelina said worriedly the next morning, looking at Alicia's rapidly paling face. She was chalk white and looked like she was about to be sick.

"Yeah, I don't feel great either," Alicia said, swaying slightly and putting a hand to her head. "I'm just so dizzy."

"Come on, I'll take you to the Hospital Wing," said Angelina.

"No, no I'll be alright. I don't need-"

But Angelina wouldn't listen. "I'm taking you. Don't worry about classes; I'll help you copy up all the notes."

"Well, alright then," Alicia mumbled, taking Angelina's arm and letting her lead her to the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey," Angelina called as they entered the Wing. Madam Pomfrey appeared immediately.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed as she saw them. "Not Miss Spinnet again! You're always in here! We might as well get you a permanent wing," she muttered in displeasure, bustling around sorting out a bed for her. "Goodness me, you do look awful. What's wrong with her?" she asked Angelina.

Angelina shook her head. "I've no idea."

* * *

Angelina went to visit her the next day but she seemed to be getting steadily worse. She hadn't moved from her bed in the Hospital Wing, and her face was always drained of colour.

"I just don't understand what's wrong with her," Angelina was saying as she, Katie and the twins sat doing their homework in the Common Room one evening.

"I know," Katie agreed. "She was fine on Saturday evening."

Fred and George were silent. Angelina looked over at them suspiciously. She could not help but notice that they looked extremely guilty.

"What did you do?" Angelina asked them, a warning tone in her voice.

They looked sheepish. "Nothing, Ange," Fred said hastily. "What do you expect? How are we responsible for Alicia's illness?"

Angelina was silent for a moment. Then she snapped her fingers in realisation. "That sweet you gave her!"

Fred and George exchanged a look. Angelina looked from one to the other.

"What on earth were you thinking? Why did you test out one of your crazy sweets on Alicia? She's supposed to be your friend!"

They looked helplessly at each other, saying nothing. Angelina and Katie were muttering furiously to each other.

Katie glowered at the two of them. They wilted under her death glare.

"Alright, alright," Fred said, looking uncomfortable. "We'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone…especially not Alicia."

Angelina folded her arms, looking stern. "Alright then, go ahead."

She and Katie looked at the pair expectantly. Fred bit his lip.

"Ok, don't get mad but we may have had something to do with Alicia's illness," George began slowly. "I want you to know that we had her best interests at heart."

"Yes, yes," muttered Angelina impatiently. "Get on with it!"

"Charlie sent us a letter a week ago, begging us to stop Alicia entering the tournament. He obviously knows something about it…he wouldn't tell us what. But he did say that he'd spoken to Alicia about it but you know Alicia…stubborn as a mule. She wouldn't listen. He asked us to do whatever we could to stop her from entering the tournament. So…we did."

"By poisoning her?" Angelina exclaimed incredulously, drawing astonished looks from around the Common Room.

"Sshhh!" Fred hushed her furiously. "Stop being so melodramatic, Ange! We didn't poison her! We just needed to keep her in the Hospital Wing long enough so that she couldn't put her name in the Cup."

Angelina shook her head in despair. Katie looked sceptical. "That is without a doubt the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

"Come on, Kat, it's Fred and George, what did you expect?" Angelina sighed, her head in her hands.

"Hey!" Fred protested. "Don't blame us…blame Charlie."

"What is so bad about this tournament? Why is Charlie so ridiculously worried?" Angelina wondered aloud.

Katie looked thoughtful. Fred and George shrugged absently.

"You should go apologise to Alicia," Angelina said firmly.

Fred and George gaped at her. "Are you kidding?" George exclaimed. "Are you mad? Alicia can never know of this! Firstly, this is top secret. And secondly, she'll murder us."

"And do the world a favour," muttered Katie, still thinking hard.

Fred looked at her indignantly but didn't dare to protest.

Angelina got up abruptly. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "You two are crazy. Absolutely crazy. You don't stop Alicia doing what she wants. She _will_ kill you if she finds out."

"She won't," George said. "Unless you tell her."

Angelina almost chuckled. "Trust me, I'm not planning on it. Ever heard of 'Don't shoot the messenger'? That saying doesn't mean anything to Alicia."

* * *

**A/N. **Here's the next chapter. Hope you liked it. A big thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews and support you've given this story so far.


	26. Bad News

**Chapter 26: Bad News **

* * *

"How's she doing?" Katie asked Madam Pomfrey tentatively. The witch's expression was not promising. She looked solemn.

"Not good, I'm afraid, Miss Bell," Madam Pomfrey said, shaking her head. "We're afraid she may need to be transferred to St. Mungo's. I just can't seem to find the root of the illness."

"Is she awake? Can I see her?" Katie asked anxiously, trying to peer round the elderly witch's shoulder.

Madam Pomfrey looked severe. "No, I gave her a sleeping potion half an hour ago. She was incredibly agitated. Kept saying something about the 'goblet of fire'. Over and over. Honestly, I really think things like these tournaments do more harm than good." Madam Pomfrey shook her head in exasperation and bustled off.

A few minutes later Katie entered the Common Room to find George and Angelina playing wizard's chess. They looked up as she entered.

"How is she?" asked Angelina.

"Not good at all. I didn't see her but Madam Pomfrey said she may be transferred to St. Mungo's soon," Katie said, looking pointedly at George. "Her parents are coming tomorrow to see her."

Angelina was glaring purposefully at George who shrugged.

"She'll be alright. We just need to wait till the drawing of the names, then Fred and I can give her the antidote."

"What if she dies before then? Or gets moved to St. Mungo's?" Angelina demanded.

"Calm down. If she gets moved, we'll go to St. Mungo's under the pretence of visiting her and slip her the antidote then."

"Insane. You two are just insane. I find it hard to believe that skilled Healers don't know how to cure her," Angelina muttered.

George looked rather proud. "It's a very new and we think relatively undiscovered branch of magic. We're working on it. It could be big."

"Merlin forbid you should ever sell any of those things in the future!" Katie exclaimed, shaking her head in despair. "Oh yes, and Alicia is clearly desperate to enter this tournament. Apparently she keeps bothering Madam Pomfrey about it."

"Poor Ali…it's for her own good though," Angelina said.

* * *

"Alicia, how are you?"

Alicia looked up from where she was talking to her parents in surprise to see Charlie standing at the door.

"Charlie, how lovely to see you, dear," Mrs Spinnet immediately got up to hug him. "How is Romania treating you?"

"Wonderful, thank you," Charlie smiled. "I'm back for a few weeks on leave; I was in the area and Fred and George told me Alicia was sick, so I thought I'd drop by and cheer her up."

"Oh how nice of you!" Mrs Spinnet said. "We'll let you do your magic," she said, chuckling over her own pun. She left the room with mutterings of "Such a nice boy!"

"Hello," said Alicia quietly.

"Hi," Charlie said, sitting down beside her bed. "How are you doing?"

"Not great actually. They think they might move me to St. Mungo's next week."

Charlie's eyes widened. "It's as bad as that?"

Alicia shrugged. Charlie looked carefully at her.

"You look agitated," he said.

"I am. But I won't talk to you about it; you don't approve."

Charlie nodded in understanding. "You want to put your name in the Cup," he said.

"Yes!" she burst out. "It's just so unfair- none of the others will put my name in for me!" She looked beseechingly at Charlie.

"Count me out," Charlie said at once. "You know how I feel about this tournament."

"Doesn't stop you from supplying the dragons for the first task though does it?" Alicia muttered irritably.

"Oh come on, Alicia, lighten up," Charlie said, looking suspiciously cheerful. Alicia was too gloomy to notice.

"Be quiet Charlie Weasley. I'll lighten up when I get out of this stupid hospital bed!" she snapped.

"Sorry to break up this charming little conversation, but Madam Pomfrey wants you to take some more Pepperup Potion," said Katie, coming into the room with a smile.

Alicia groaned. "I hate that stuff. Merlin, it could only happen to me, couldn't it?"

Katie glanced sideways at Charlie. "Yes, you are strangely unlucky Ali," she said. Charlie looked up and caught Katie's somewhat severe expression. He looked guiltily at her.

"Anyway, we'll leave you to recover in peace," said Charlie hastily, getting up and following Katie from the room.

"Do you know something?" he demanded as he left the room.

Katie looked at him innocently. "About what?"

He shook his head hurriedly. "No, nothing."

* * *

"What exactly did you do to her? She looks terrible," Charlie demanded, dragging Fred and George over to a quiet part of the courtyard. "It's not going to kill her, is it? Because you know that would be a little counter-productive."

"Calm down, Charlie," Fred said. "She'll be ok- we have the antidote which we'll give to her once the names are drawn from the Cup."

Charlie looked relieved. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"We care about her too," George said. "She's a liability to herself. Honestly." He shook his head with a smile.

* * *

"Glad to see you're back on your feet, Miss Spinnet," McGonagall smiled as she swept into the Hospital Wing. "We thought we were going to have to send you to London."

Alicia looked up with a hopeful smile. "I don't suppose there's any way I can put my name into the-"

McGonagall was already shaking her head. "If you're going to say 'goblet', I'm afraid that's not possible Miss Spinnet. I'm sorry."

"But in my case- can't an exception be made?" Alicia said desperately.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Spinnet, but the champions have just been chosen."

Alicia shut her mouth abruptly, silencing her next protest.

"Who are they?" she asked quietly.

"Mr Viktor Krum, Miss Fleur Delacour, Mr Diggory…and er…Mr Potter," McGonagall said, looking a little agitated.

Alicia's jaw dropped. "What? But how are there…four champions? And Harry? But he's only fourteen! How can that be possible?"

McGonagall inclined her head. "We don't know yet how it happened. It has never before happened. But it is the rules. Once your name is drawn out of the Goblet, you cannot withdraw."

"But Harry wouldn't have put his name in the Cup. He can't have. He's just a boy," Alicia protested.

McGonagall for once was silent. "Yes," she said quietly. "I have to say that I am inclined to agree with you, Miss Spinnet, but there is nothing else we can do, I am afraid."

Alicia stood in silence for a moment.

"Well, if you are feeling better, perhaps you can go and join your friends at dinner. If Madam Pomfrey allows you, that is," McGonagall said, returning to her normal brisk self.

"Yes….yes, alright," said Alicia distractedly, hurrying from the Wing.

* * *

"Alicia! You're better!" Katie exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Katie! Oh it's so nice to be back! How's everything been without me?" Alicia said grinning.

"Boring," Katie grinned. "Of course. Nothing's the same without you, Al."

Alicia laughed and hugged her again.

"You're in good spirits," Katie observed.

"Yes, I'm just so happy to be out of that horrid hospital bed," Alicia said joyfully, flinging herself down on the sofa by the fire.

Shall I tell her? wondered Katie. She's so happy. Maybe she's not that angry about the tournament after all. She needs to know.

"Alicia, I have something to tell you," Katie said quietly, coming over to the sofa and sitting down beside her friend.

"Yeah?"

"It's about your illness. I'm afraid it wasn't entirely a coincidence. The timing of it, I mean," Katie said cautiously.

Alicia looked up sharply. Katie faltered.

"What?"

"I…well, apparently Fred and George had something to do with it. Apparently Charlie asked them to stop you from entering the tournament. He obviously really cares about y-"

"WHAT? Charlie did this? I can't believe him! How could he? And Fred and George! I'm going to murder them!" Alicia's face was livid.

Katie looked worried and bit her lip. "Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell you…"

"No," said Alicia a little more calmly. "I'm glad you told me, Kates," Alicia said.

"I thought you weren't that upset about not entering," Katie said anxiously.

"I was just trying to put a brave face on it. After all, they say 'there's no point crying over spilt milk.'"

Katie gave her a funny look.

"Oh, forget it. It's another Muggle saying. However, there is point murdering the person who spilt it in the first place."

"Come on, Ali, it's not that bad. They were just worried about you," Katie said.

"It's not their choice, Kat! It's mine," Alicia said through clenched teeth. "I'll see you later." She got up and headed towards the portrait hole.

"Where are you going?" Katie asked worriedly.

"Just going for a walk," Alicia said, yanking open the portrait hole.

Katie jumped up hastily and sped out after her.

* * *

"Angelina!" Katie exclaimed as she saw the tall girl coming out of dinner. "I may have done something very stupid."

Angelina rolled your eyes. "What did you do? Don't tell me you got detention during Quidditch practice or something?"

"No…" said Katie slowly. "But I may have done something stupider than that."

"What did you do?" Angelina said looking anxious at Katie's guilty expression.

"Ok, I want you to know that I had my reasons for doing it. But I may have told Alicia what Fred and George did," Katie rushed out.

"What?" Angelina looked incredulous. "You do know how dangerous that was, don't you?"

"Yes," Katie fretted, wringing her hands.

"Where is she now?" Angelina asked.

"I don't know!" Katie exclaimed, her voice shrill.

"Can I just ask what exactly the reason was for telling her?" Angelina said, a hint of a smile touching her lips at Katie's agitated state.

Katie forgot her worry for a moment and grinned. "It's Charlie. I have a theory. He obviously cares about Alicia. A lot. And I wanted to make Alicia see just how much. I wanted to show her what Charlie did to try and make sure she was safe. Unfortunately I misjudged her reaction just a tad."

Angelina burst out laughing. "Oh Kat! You are clever but also so stupid! You're probably right about Charlie but that was just the worst way to go about it! You do realise that instead of realising how much Charlie cares about her, Alicia will probably go and murder him?" Angelina said, through her laughter.

"Er…yes I forgot about that. Slight problem," Katie said sheepishly. "Well, anyway, she should know. It was unfair for her to be in the dark."

Angelina laughed and slung an arm around her friend. "Come on, let's get away from the murder scene."

Katie frowned. "What?"

"Well…a) I can see Fred and George coming out of dinner and b) I can see Alicia heading towards them. Let's get out of here, shall we?"

The two of them hurried off up the Grand Staircase, collapsing into fits of laughter.

* * *

**A/N. **Hope you liked this chapter. I'm afraid the next chapter probably won't be up for a little while, but it should be an exciting one, so don't go anywhere! : )


	27. The Dragons

_A/N. Hey everyone : ) I wanted to post this chapter days ago but there was some problem with fanfiction going on which wouldn't let me update. Anyway, here it is at last! Hope you like it! _

**Chapter 27: The Dragons**

* * *

"Harry! Are you ok?"

Harry turned to see Alicia looking at him in concern. He sighed and ran a hand through his already untidy hair. She smiled fondly as he messed up even more.

"Yes, I guess so. But I didn't put my name in the Cup, I swear I didn't. I promise. No one believes me but I swear-"

"I believe you, Harry. It's stupid to think that you did. How could you have? It takes powerful Dark magic to confuse the Goblet of Fire." Alicia shook her head wearily. "Anyway, I just wanted to say- if you need any help, any help at all, don't hesitate to ask."

Harry smiled weakly. "Thanks Al," he said.

"Don't worry Harry, you'll be absolutely fine. You have Hermione," Alicia grinned.

"Do I hear my name?" Hermione said, smiling as she entered the Common Room. "Hi Alicia, Harry been moaning to you?"

"Of course not," Alicia said, smiling. "Harry's just fine."

"Are you feeling ok? I'm sorry that you couldn't enter the tournament," Hermione said sympathetically.

"I suppose you'd give anything to be in my position, wouldn't you?" said Harry. He laughed humourlessly. "Funny how that happens, isn't it?"

Alicia sighed. "I'm ok. Rather angry with certain people but just fine."

* * *

"Hey Hermione," Alicia said in surprise. "What are you doing out here?"

She looked around the deserted corridor outside the Common Room. Hermione looked suspiciously guilty, like she'd been caught doing something wrong.

"Er..nothing, I just…er forgot the password," Hermione said, looking flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"Prefect patrols," said Alicia slowly. "I'll just open the portrait hole for you, shall I?"

"Pig Snout," she said, turning to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Alicia turned back but to her surprise Hermione had disappeared.

"Are you coming through or not?" the Fat Lady said impatiently.

Alicia frowned. What on earth was Hermione up to? She peered around the corner of the corridor to see Hermione hurrying off in the opposite direction.

"Where is she going at this time of night?" Alicia wondered aloud.

Unable to curb her curiosity, she made up her mind in a second. She hurried off after Hermione.

* * *

"Hermione, what are you doing? Why are you following me?" A voice seemed to be coming out of thin air as Hermione stood apparently alone on the lawn leading down towards Hagrid's and the Forbidden Forest.

Realisation quickly dawned on Alicia when Hermione said: "I'm sorry Harry, I was just so curious!"

"And you couldn't wait till I came back?" Harry's voice was impatient and annoyed. "You're going to get me caught."

"Alright, alright," snapped Hermione. "I'll just go back then, shall I?" She looked irritable. "Look, hurry up, Hagrid's waiting for you."

"See you back at the Common Room," Harry's invisible voice whispered from under the Cloak as Hermione hurried back towards Alicia.

Alicia drew further back into the niche where she was hiding as Hermione passed. Once Hermione had gone, Alicia hurried across the lawn to where she had just seen Hagrid disappear.

She followed them silently through the Forbidden Forest. It was not difficult to remain unseen; the forest was dark and full of sounds. In fact, as they got further and further into the forest, the noises seemed to get louder. It almost sounded like roaring.

Alicia frowned as she tried to identify the sound and she almost missed Hagrid taking another turning.

Alicia followed them as best she could, though she couldn't help but think in irritation that Hagrid was leading them through the middle of the undergrowth.

Suddenly there was a break in the bushes, through which Hagrid had been crashing with annoying ease. Alicia could only wonder if Harry looked just as bad as she did. She felt like a walking shrub. She was covered in scratches and there were bits of leaves and twigs stuck in her hair.

As they came to a halt, Alicia heard a gasp from somewhere in front of her and she looked up. And suddenly she saw them. Four enormous dragons. Fully grown, vicious dragons, roaring and sending jets of red fire into the dark starry sky. Alicia's mouth fell open.

She had never seen a dragon before. She could see lots of wizards darting about, trying to avoid being singed or clawed by the huge creatures. There were at least thirty wizards to each dragon, fixing metal chains and straps around the dragons' feet and necks.

"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a familiar voice. "Stunning Spells…after three!"

"Stupefy!" shouted four wizards in unison. The biggest of the dragons; a great vicious looking thing; with shiny black scales, long sharp teeth, and venomous yellow eyes, teetered dangerously and then hit the ground with an enormous thud.

Alicia watched in complete shock and astonishment.

The rest of the wizards had now moved off to help tie up the dragons. The wizard whose voice had sounded familiar came over to the fence where Hagrid was standing.

"All right, Hagrid?" panted the wizard, running a hand through his hair. "Seen the Hungarian Horntail? She's a beauty, isn't she?" He gestured to the great black dragon behind him. Alicia snorted. Beautiful? Terrifying more like…

"And that's a Common Welsh Green over there," the wizard said, moving closer and Alicia gasped as she realised the wizard was Charlie.

She had not recognised him at first in the dark. He had cut his hair since the last time she had seen him; it was now short and curly. He seemed to have grown at least 5 inches since the summer too. His T-shirt was singed and ripped, revealing a stretch of muscled and tanned chest, and he had a large cut above his eye.

Alicia suddenly realised she'd been holding her breath. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

She watched as he chatted amicably to Hagrid, who seemed mesmerised by the Horntail, a dreamy sort of look in his eye.

"How's Harry?" said Charlie. Alicia was pulled from her daze at the sound of Harry's name. "Hope he's fine after he's faced this lot," Charlie was saying.

Alicia felt Harry brush past her.

She glanced up. Hagrid had wandered off to get a closer look at the Horntail. Charlie also seemed to have disappeared but as she glanced around, she saw him kneeling at the edge of the clearing, swigging from a hip flask.

Getting over her initial shock of seeing him here, she felt the familiar anger at him surge up inside her.

She strode over to where he was standing.

"What were you thinking?" she shouted, knowing she must look like a complete idiot, with bits of tree sticking out of her head but too furious to care.

Charlie looked up in surprise and stood up slowly, putting away the flask.

"Alicia, what on earth are you doing here?" he asked incredulously.

She glowered at him. "Don't avoid the question. Never you mind what I'm doing here. What were you thinking getting Fred and George to stop me entering the tournament?" Her voice was shrill as she felt the anger building. She had quite a temper but she had never been this angry.

What further infuriated her was that Charlie looked so calm. He stood in front of her looking as though he'd done nothing wrong.

"It was for your own good," he said coolly. "People have _died_ in this tournament, Alicia. You think I could watch you be one of them?"

"I don't care Charlie," Alicia shouted back, growing angrier with every second. "It was my choice, not yours. It was important to me; it was a chance for me to prove myself, to prove my worth; to prove I'm not just the stupid _Muggle born_ everyone thinks I am!"

Charlie gave her look of complete incredulity and contempt. "You think that's what everyone thinks?" he spat. "You're insane."

"Maybe I am," she shouted, feeling tears spring to her eyes. "But you should have understood that," she said, blinking away the angry tears that were threatening to spill down over her cheeks.

"I did," Charlie said through gritted teeth, his calm demeanour slipping. "But that didn't make it any better. It didn't make me ok with you entering the damn tournament. It was too dangerous. It _is _too dangerous. Look!" he said, pointing an arm in the direction of the dragons. Their roaring was loud and terrible, and great columns of flame and smoke could be seen rising through the trees.

"How dare you, Charlie?"

Her voice was surprisingly quiet but the anger was not concealed in it; if anything it increased the effect. "How _dare_ you meddle in things that don't concern you?"

And then Charlie seemed to snap. His eyes appeared to blaze with utter fury and his fists were clenched so tightly by his sides that his knuckles were almost white.

"You think this doesn't concern me?"

Alicia watched him warily, though her anger was by no means gone. She watched him in complete surprise. Charlie, calm cool Charlie. She had never seen him angry before. Never seen him even lose his temper.

He laughed harshly, a hollow sound that did not suit him. "You're mad," he said spitefully, shaking his head.

But Alicia was obstinate. "You knew how much this meant to me," she said furiously. "Just tell me the truth. Why did you do it, Charlie?" she said, looking up at him.

Charlie didn't look at her. He was staring resolutely at the ground, his fists still clenched and when he looked up at her again, his eyes still blazed with the same anger she had never before seen in his eyes.

And then he did something completely unexpected. He seized her by the waist and kissed her angrily. Alicia was too shocked to move at first but it didn't last long.

He broke away roughly. "That's why," he said, his voice still full of fury. His dark blue eyes that she loved so much were cold and hard.

With an inscrutable expression he turned and strode away until the darkness of the Forest had swallowed him up.

She let him go, too confused to do anything, until she was left standing among the shadows, with only the faint echoes of the dragons' roars to break the terrible silence.


	28. The First Task

**A/N. **Over 50 reviews! : D Thank you so much; you guys are wonderful!

* * *

**Chapter 28: The First Task**

* * *

"I don't understand," Angelina said. "What happened between you and Charlie?"

The two of them sat with Katie, Oliver and the twins in the stands waiting for the first task to start.

"It's nothing," said Alicia firmly, turning away.

"It's _not _nothing," Angelina persisted. "Come on, Ali, I'm dying to know. You've forgiven these two twits-" she gestured to Fred and George. "Why not Charlie?"

"Drop it, Ange, seriously. She'll tell us when she's ready," Katie said, squeezing Alicia's hand reassuringly.

Alicia looked at her gratefully.

"Alright, alright," Angelina huffed, turning back towards the great grassy clearing before them where Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch were now standing ready to address the audience. A tent had been raised by a cluster of trees where Alicia assumed the champions were. Her mind drifted to Harry. She wondered how he was coping. Dead nervous probably, she thought to herself. I know I would be. Terrified. But still up for it, she told herself firmly.

She glanced over at the dragon enclosure where there were several wizards milling around, attending to the dragons. She caught sight of Charlie talking animatedly to Ludo Bagman. Her stomach gave a swoop as she saw him. She quickly averted her eyes and turned to talk to Oliver hastily.

* * *

"Harry! You were amazing!" Alicia said, running towards where Harry was standing. He was completely drained of colour and there was a slight cut on his shoulder, but other than that, he seemed relatively unhurt.

She flung her arms around him joyfully. Angelina and Katie hugged him too. She noticed that Ron was standing beside him, looking somewhat sheepish.

"Are you two talking again?" Alicia grinned.

"Speaking of talking, are you going to talk to Char- OW!" Angelina began but Katie elbowed her hard in the ribs. Angelina glared at her.

"Cut it out," Katie hissed urgently.

Harry and Ron looked at the girls in confusion. Then they all turned to the judges' table as Harry's scores were announced.

"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" called Charlie, hurrying over to pat him on the back with a huge grin.

The grin quickly slid off his face when he caught sight of Alicia. They looked at each other for a brief moment. There was a stony silence. Their friends looked from one to the other, none of them daring to speak.

"Anyway, listen I've got to run," said Charlie, turning back to Harry. "I've got to go send Mum an owl…I promised I'd tell her what happened- but that was unbelievable!" He didn't look at Alicia again. "I'll see you all later. Well done, Harry!" He hurried off.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked loudly. Hermione hastily stepped on his foot.

Alicia turned away and headed back towards the castle. The others followed, Hermione reprimanding Ron.

"God, Ron, sometimes you can be so tactless!"

"I'm sorry- I didn't know what was- I just asked a question!" Ron was protesting.

Alicia saw Angelina looking at her surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't," she warned.

Angelina shook her head hastily. "I wasn't going to!" she exclaimed. "I was just wondering what's for dinner."

Alicia snorted in disbelief and shook her head in amusement.


	29. The Silence Says It All

**Chapter 29: The Silence Says It All**

* * *

"I'm surprised you haven't heard from Charlie in so long," Angelina said conversationally one day a few months later, as she and Alicia sat in the library. "Surely it's all water under the bridge now- I mean, seeing as it's nearly the end of the tournament. You've both forgotten all about your little quarrel, haven't you?"

Alicia looked at Angelina in disbelief. "Merlin, Angelina, sometimes you are just so-"

"So?" Angelina raised an eyebrow.

"I can't explain it," Alicia said, turning away before Angelina could see her smile. "You're just so…matter-of-fact. You think that quarrels can't last longer than a few days. You think problems solve themselves in a matter of weeks. You think people forgive each other as easily as they hurt each other."

Angelina looked surprised. "Well, why not?" She glanced over at Alicia and caught the sad look in her eyes.

"Ali, please tell me what's wrong," she said softly.

Alicia shook her head and looked down at her parchment. "I can't…because I don't know myself. I'm still so angry at him for what he did but I'm also confused."

"You love him."

Alicia looked up at Angelina sharply. "What?"

"You love him," she repeated simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Come on, Alicia, you can't deny it. Why else can't you stop thinking about him since he went back to Romania? Why else do you keep moping over him?"

Alicia looked indignant. "I am _not_ moping over him. I promise you, that's not the problem. I can stop thinking about him whenever I want. Get it into your head once and for all, Angelina Johnston. I. Do _not. _Love. Charlie. Weasley."

"Alright, alright," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. "Fine. You don't. I get it."

"I don't," Alicia said mutinously, stabbing her quill into her inkpot rather viciously.

"Alright," Angelina said, looking unconvinced. "Whatever you say."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"She totally loves him," Angelina whispered to a Ravenclaw fifth year who was studying "Achievements in Charms" intently beside her.

"Alright, that's it!" Alicia exclaimed, slamming her books down on the table. "I'll see you at dinner."

And she stormed from the library, a furious scowl on her face.

"Merlin, it's so obvious," Angelina said gleefully to the Ravenclaw, who looked at her vacantly before turning back to her book.

* * *

The final task was approaching fast and Alicia became more and more worried for Harry's welfare. The poor boy seemed to be getting paler and thinner by the day, and she knew the pressure was getting to him. More worrying still was the feeling she couldn't seem to shake that something terrible was going to happen.

It wasn't some sort of premonition, more just a feeling that history would repeat itself, as it had done for the past three years of Harry's Hogwarts life. It seemed to be a given thing; Harry couldn't get through a year without something happening to him.

Alicia also knew that Cedric was feeling the pressure too, though he did his best not to show it. She often saw him in the Library, poring over dusty old books when everyone else was back in their cosy dormitories, with not a care in the world. She often went to help him, wishing that there was something more she could do to ease the burden of the impending task.

But despite her sympathy for Cedric, it was so completely different to Harry's case. Cedric had signed up for this, knowingly, willingly. Harry had been forced into this, against his will and had had to face not only the strenuous hardships of the tasks themselves but also the reactions of the rest of the school that accompanied the drawing of his name from the Goblet. So it was for this reason that she did her very best to help Harry wherever and whenever she could, teaming up with Hermione and studying books late into the night.

And finally, after weeks of worrying and anxiety, the day of the Final Task dawned.

* * *

"Ok, so you won't forget that to perform the Flame-Freezing Charm, you have to-"

"Alicia," Harry interrupted hastily, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her firmly in the eye. "I've got it. I'm fine. I remember everything you've told me. Don't worry about me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," Alicia said, in a choked voice, her face white. "Of course I'm going to worry."

Harry sighed and gave her arm a squeeze. There was nothing more he could say.

"Just be careful, Harry," Alicia said, giving him a hug before turning away.

As she hurried over towards the stands where her friends were sitting, she caught sight of Cedric, standing alone, behind the stands, his back to the Quidditch pitch.

Glancing up at her friends briefly, she walked towards him.

"You're a champion, Diggory," she said softly.

He turned at the sound of her voice, and gave a weak smile. "How's Harry doing?"

"He's ok," Alicia said, glancing back over at the black haired boy, who was now talking to Ron and Hermione. "He's had worse."

Cedric nodded mutely.

"Come on, Diggory, pull yourself together," Alicia said firmly, seeing the defeated, fearful look in his grey eyes.

He gave her a surprised look.

"Look, I know you're not a Gryffindor, so you're not brave or anything," Alicia began, with a wry smile. He gave a little chuckle. "But you're a great wizard, Diggory, you're strong and you're a champion," she said simply. "Don't tell Harry I said this," she said, with a wink. "But you're the true champion of Hogwarts."

Cedric just gave her a look.

"No, Cedric," she said, adopting his first name. "I mean it; the Goblet didn't choose Harry's name because it thought he should be the Hogwarts champion, it chose yours. You were who the Goblet intended."

A fleeting smile passed across his face.

* * *

"I don't like Diggory," Charlie decided, watching the handsome Hufflepuff talking to Alicia.

"Why not?" Fred asked, chomping on some Honeydukes as they waited for the Final Task to start. Charlie had returned to Hogwarts briefly to watch the Final Task. He had avoided Alicia and persuaded the twins to come and sit with him on the opposite side of the stadium from Alicia. "I mean, besides the obvious."

"He's so full of himself," Charlie said, glowering at him.

Fred looked up and followed Charlie's gaze, before letting out a bark of laughter. "Oh I see," he said, chuckling still. "You have a perfectly good reason to dislike Diggory. You're jealous because you think he's stealing your girl."

"What?" Charlie said, his gaze snapping away from the pair talking behind the stands. "What are you talking about?"

Fred nodded over to where he had been looking just a moment ago.

"Don't be ridiculous, Fred. Why on earth would I be jealous?" he said indignantly. "Firstly, I am far more handsome and charming than that idiot Hufflepuff, secondly _she _can talk to whoever she likes and thirdly since when is she my girl?"

Fred snorted. "Oh yeah right, so you haven't been in love with her for about two years then?"

Charlie narrowed his eyes at his brother. "No, I haven't. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Charlie, you can't exactly deny that you're completely-"

"Cut it out, Fred," said Charlie sharply. "Anyway, the Final Task is starting."

And with that, he turned away from his brother, glancing briefly over at where Alicia had now taken her seat beside Katie and Angelina. His gaze did not linger long on her and she did not look over.

* * *

It was over an hour since the champions had entered the maze and nothing was happening. Alicia was worried. Of course.

The time ticked by as slowly as it possibly could and still no one emerged from the maze. Then suddenly, after about an hour and a half, a stream of red sparks shot into the sky. Alicia gasped and gripped Angelina's hand tightly.

"Merlin, Alicia!" Angelina exclaimed, pulling her hand from Alicia's. "Cut it out! If they're able to send up red sparks, they're obviously not dead."

Alicia nodded absently but she wasn't paying any attention to what Angelina was saying. All her attention was focused on not imagining the worst case scenarios.

Hours passed and nothing more happened. Fleur Delacour had emerged from the maze a few minutes after the stream of red sparks, carried on a stretcher but she had soon regained consciousness and was sitting amongst her family, wrapped up in a blanket, looking shaken but unhurt.

Then, all of a sudden, as Alicia was beginning to think this suspense would never end, there was a sudden glow and two figures suddenly burst out of the maze, tumbling to the ground. She leapt to her feet with a gasp, her eyes squinting but unable to make out the figures.

Then there was a sudden terrible scream of grief and somebody rushed forward. One of the figures was frighteningly still. Alicia felt awful for thinking it, but she could not help but pray that it was anybody but Harry.

And then there seemed to be complete silence, save for the terrible wracking sobs of the person holding the still body in their arms. And through the silence, she could distinctly hear the sound of Harry's voice.

Thank Merlin he's alive, she thought. That is, until she heard what he was shouting.

"He's back! He's back! Voldemort's back!"

Suddenly a hundred voices broke out at once, all questioning, shouting, an utter chaos of fear and confusion.

As Alicia heard these words, she felt a terrible chill come over her. Like someone had wrapped a cold hand around her heart. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be. Yet there was Harry, saying it, desperately saying it, and there was a body, a still body.

Heart pounding, Alicia made her way through the terrified crowd, trying to get to Harry. But when she reached the bottom, he had disappeared.

"Where's Harry?" she kept asking, but everyone shook their heads, they didn't know.

She found Hermione, whose face was so white Alicia thought she might be about to faint. "Where's Harry?" she yelled, over the noise. Hermione shook her head weakly.

Alicia could not bring herself to look over at the other figure that had appeared with Harry. She could not. For she knew exactly who it was.

She felt a terrible surge of grief come over her, but for now she pushed it away. She needed to find Harry; she had a horrible feeling he was still in danger.

* * *

"Professor Dumbledore!" Alicia exclaimed, in relief, seeing him standing not far off, talking urgently to Professor McGonagall. "Where's Harry? Is he ok? I need to see him."

A sudden look of shock flitted across Dumbledore's face.

"What is it, sir? Where is he?" Alicia asked desperately.

"Minerva!" Dumbledore said quickly. "Fetch Severus and the others. Meet me at Professor Moody's office as soon as you can."

"But Professor, where are you going? Is Harry in danger? Can I help?" Alicia said, her white face small and afraid.

Dumbledore hesitated and put a kindly hand on her arm. "Everything is fine, Miss Spinnet. Do not trouble yourself. I will take care of Harry."

Alicia nodded. She trusted him. She trusted Dumbledore. She knew he would not fail Harry.

* * *

"Harry! Are you alright? I was so worried about you," Alicia said, hurrying into the Hospital Wing half an hour later. She had heard what had happened; with Professor Moody and Harry, that he had been a Death Eater all along, that he had put Harry's name in the Cup, and that he had just tried to kill him yet again.

Harry looked up with a weak smile. She could practically see the terrible pain and fear in his eyes. It was not right. It made her so angry. It was not right for someone so young to have to go through such terrible things.

"I'm fine, Al, I'm alive," Harry whispered. "That's enough for now, isn't it?"

Alicia nodded tearfully, giving him a careful hug.

"So is it true?" she asked tentatively, after a moment. "Is he really back? You-Know-Who?"

Harry nodded slowly. "It's true. I – I'd like to tell you more, Ali, of what happened in the graveyard, but…but I don't think I can. It's just too…"

"I know, Harry," Alicia said, squeezing his hand tightly. "I understand. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have you relive it ever again."

"I don't know what things are going to be like now, Alicia," Harry said weakly. "Now that he's back. I'm scared, Ali. I'm really scared."

"I know, Harry," she said softly. "I know."

* * *

"We'll be seventh years next year," sighed Angelina, throwing a few things into her trunk. They were packing the night before they left Hogwarts.

"Yeah…" Alicia looked thoughtful. "Who d'you think'll get Head Boy and Girl?"

"Oh I don't know…Fred maybe?" Angelina said, snorting with laughter. "I promise you, if Fred _Weasley_ gets Head Boy I'll get up on the tables in Great Hall and dance the Macarena."

Alicia laughed. "Now there's a sight I'd love to see," she said, hunting under her bed for her Sneakoscope.

"Charlie's coming back from Romania for good this summer," Angelina said matter-of-factly. Alicia jerked upwards abruptly, smacking her head on the underside of her bed.

"What?"

Alicia looked up sharply at Angelina who was sitting on her bed looking smug. "I thought you'd be interested," she remarked.

"I...I'm not interested," said Alicia hastily. "I don't care _what_ he's doing."

"Just admit that you miss him," Angelina said in exasperation.

"Don't talk to me about him, Ange. I don't want to hear it." She turned away and started folding her socks.

"Are you ever going to forgive him?" Angelina said quietly.

She glanced over at where Alicia was focusing very intently on folding her socks.

"Wow, those socks must be very important with the amount of care you're putting in there," Angelina remarked drily.

There was no answer but she could have sworn she heard Alicia sigh wistfully.

* * *

"Miss Spinnet. And where are you working this summer?" asked Professor McGonagall, checking her clipboard over her square spectacles.

Alicia picked up her bag and peered at the list over McGonagall's shoulder.

"St. Mungo's," she said.

"Ah yes, that's right. I trust you have all the necessary requirements?" McGonagall said in her usual brisk fashion.

"Yes, I have all the papers I need," Alicia said. She gave a contented sigh. "I'm just so excited. Finally living my dream of being a Healer."

McGonagall gave a rare smile. "I think you will do extremely well there, Miss Spinnet. If you get good results in your N.E. next year, which I strongly expect you will if you continue your current high standard of work, you will be well on the way to becoming a Healer. A few years of training and you'll be there."

Alicia smiled joyfully. "Oh I do hope so! Have a good summer, Professor!" she said happily.

"And you, Miss Spinnet," said McGonagall, shaking her head with an amused smile and turning to the next student wielding her clipboard.

Alicia walked over to where Angelina and Katie were waiting to take a coach down to the station.

"Last year next year," grinned Katie. "For you two, that is."

Angelina and Alicia smiled. "Exciting stuff," said Alicia, smiling as she thought of the summer ahead of her.

"And you, little Miss Bell, are starting NEWT work next year. I warn you, it's no walk in the park," smirked George, clambering into a horseless coach as it pulled up.

"Oh shush, George. Let's just enjoy this summer. May it be happy and blissfully uneventful!" Alicia grinned, climbing in after her.

Famous last words.

* * *

**A/N. **Sit tight! Seventh year on its way! Thanks everyone for reading : )


	30. Panic

**A/N. **Hey guys : ) Sorry for the delay on this chapter….but here it is at last! As always, hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 30: Panic**

* * *

_Ali, _

_You coming over to the Burrow tonight? Molly's making her famous pumpkin stew. And if that isn't enough to tempt you, I know everyone really wants you to be there. It's been weeks since we had a proper dinner all together. _

_I have some news which I know you'll claim not to be interested in but I think you should know. I heard from Molly that Charlie is back from Romania. He's staying in a flat in London for the summer. _

_Come on, Al. Don't you think it's been long enough? You need to talk to him._

_Love Angelina_

* * *

**Ange,**

**I'd really love to come but I'm busy with work tonight. This internship at St. Mungo's is way more full-on than I thought it would be. Please apologise to Molly on my behalf. I promise I'll be at the next one. **

**As for your "news", you were right. I'm not interested. Nothing's changed, Ange. I'm still angry for what he did. **

**I have an hour free tomorrow. Want to meet up for lunch? **

**Love Alicia**

* * *

"So, Alicia, are you going to finish working on that file for the Lancaster case tonight? And also write the draft for the conference on Tuesday?"

The sound of her boss's voice was like a drill constantly whining in her ear.

Alicia sighed wearily and pushed a hand through her hair.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, that's all fine."

"Good," said her boss. "Be here at 8 o'clock tomorrow to assist Healer Pye."

"Will do," Alicia said, mustering a weary smile.

"See you tomorrow. Don't stay too late," her boss said, glancing out the window at the darkening sky.

"I won't. Thank you," Alicia said, not looking up from the pile of files on her desk. She heard the door click shut.

She had not imagined that a summer internship would be anything like this. She loved it at St. Mungo's but it was tough work. There always seemed to be something to do; papers to file, operations to help with, conferences to attend, notes to take, coffee to make….The list was never ending. But she knew that if she wanted a shot at becoming a Healer, she needed to take what she was given.

She watched absently as the last of the sun slipped from view and the room darkened. Getting up with a sigh, she flicked on the lights before returning to her desk to continue with her work.

Two hours later, she gave up as she felt her eyelids slowly drooping. She stifled a yawn as she left the room, flicking off the lights and locking up as she left.

She waved goodnight to the receptionist who was watching the light drizzle outside with a bored expression. The clock in the square outside chimed ten o'clock as she headed towards the exit.

She quickly hailed a cab, almost too tired to think. Her mind briefly flickered to her parents, hoping they wouldn't be too annoyed at how late her hours were becoming.

As they drove through the streets of London, Alicia gazed out of the window, watching the drizzle spattered lights of the city flick past, and the occasional person here and there along the streets huddled under an umbrella hurrying home to their warm house.

Her mind drifted to Angelina's letter. She wished she could have been at the Burrow. She felt bad for cancelling again but she needed this internship to go well. She knew how difficult the profession of being a Healer was. Next year, she would have to study really hard. Good NEWT results were vital in this profession.

As she thought about the letter, she couldn't help but think about Charlie. Somewhat irritatingly, Charlie had been a thought rather inconveniently prevalent in her mind these past few weeks of summer. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself of her anger at him, she couldn't seem to put him out of her mind.

Little obscure things would remind her of him; a red headed person sitting in front of her in the cinema, catching sight of the charm bracelet he'd given her sticking out of her drawer, a patient coming into the hospital with a dragon bite. It irritated her how much he was in her thoughts, even when she did her best to shut him out.

The cab pulled up to her house. She got out and hastily paid the driver, anxious to get out of the rain. She pulled her collar up and hurried towards her house. The lights were out in her house. All was dark.

She opened the gate slowly, frowning slightly. Surely her parents hadn't gone to bed yet?

As she stepped through the gate, her heart gave a jolt of fear. The front door was wide open. She moved closer, her panic rising. Her heart was banging painfully hard.

Reaching the open doorway she could see the dark hallway stretching out before her. Sheets of paper were drifting about in the darkened hall, rain spattered and muddy.

She slowly pulled out her wand and stepped into the house. Panic began to choke her. She didn't want to go any further, terrified of what she might find.

But she pushed herself on. She stepped into the living room. The lights were off. A single shaft of faint moonlight filtered through a gap in the curtains, casting shadows about the room. She slowly reached out and flicked the lights on.

And unable to stop herself, she screamed.


	31. On My Mind

**Chapter 31: On My Mind**

* * *

Alicia's scream was quickly cut short as she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. Her heart was thumping wildly out of control.

There before her, lay the frighteningly still bodies of her parents, crumpled on the ground.

Incapable of looking at them a second longer, she ran over to the fireplace and, grabbing a handful of Floo powder, she stumbled into the flames.

As she did so, her head span. Where should she go?

"Charlie Weasley," she shouted, before she could stop herself.

She felt herself spinning rapidly, flashes of green fire whirled before her eyes. But she didn't take any of it in; her mind had shut down. As the spinning gradually slowed, she could feel great sobs of panic, fear and complete shock beginning to wrack her body.

She stumbled out of the fireplace, unable to hold herself up anymore, and collapsed.

* * *

"Alicia? Alicia? What's wrong? What's happened?" Charlie's urgent panicked voice brought her back to consciousness.

She sat up quickly, and the world spun violently.

"Woah," exclaimed Charlie, holding her steady. "Careful."

"My parents. It's my parents. They've been-"

She broke off as another wave of nausea and overwhelming fear came over her.

"It's alright Alicia. You're safe," he soothed as he lifted her gently and carried her over to the sofa. His voice was calming to her and she let herself be placed on the sofa without objection and listened to the comforting sound of his voice.

She distantly felt him leave her side and she began to protest. She looked up, in her almost delirious state, wondering what he was doing. He was casting a Patronus.

"Go to the Spinnets' house immediately. Get her parents to St. Mungo's. I'll take care of Alicia."

And then the silver dragon was gone.

She felt him return to her side. She was slipping. She felt him take her hand with one hand, and place a blanket over her with the other. Then blackness overwhelmed her sight.

* * *

The next few days passed in a hazy blur of distant reality. Alicia drifted in and out of consciousness. Charlie took care of her the whole time, trying desperately to cool her fevered brow and soothe her fretful mind.

She frequently muttered in her sleep, mainly about her parents…and also about him.

He watched her in apprehension as she tossed and turned fitfully in her sleep. He remained by her day and night, scarcely leaving her side.

"How's she doing?" Angelina asked one day. She had come to visit Alicia.

"Not good," replied Charlie. He was biting his lip in anxiety. "She's been like this for days. High fever, tossing and turning."

Angelina frowned in concern and put a hand on Alicia's forehead. She sighed.

"Maybe we need to take her to St. Mungo's to join her parents," Angelina said, sitting down on the end of the bed. "You can't keep doing this Charlie. You're going to make _yourself _ill. You need some sleep. Some rest."

Charlie shook his head hurriedly. "I can't leave her. Anyway, how are her parents?"

"The Healers can't say yet. Their state is not yet stable and they don't know how it's going to go."

"Do they know what might have happened yet?" Charlie asked, looking up from where he was sponging Alicia's burning forehead with a damp cloth.

Angelina shook her head. "No. But they suspect You-Know-Who's followers. It looks like torture."

Charlie nodded. "I thought as much. But why did they want Alicia's parents? They're Muggles. Surely they would just want to kill them? Why did they leave them alive?"

Angelina shrugged. "It's a mystery. A gruesome one to say the least. I just hope they're going to be alright."

Charlie smiled weakly. "They will be. Spinnets are tough."

Angelina smiled gently.

"I'll send over Katie and Oliver and the twins to help. And I'll come over to help you too. You can't do this all alone."

"Thanks, Ange."

* * *

"_Charlie. Don't go. Please. I'm sorry." _

Alicia tossed in her bed, her covers tangled around her.

"_Don't go. Don't leave. I need you." _

Her frantic voice jerked Charlie from his sleep. He woke suddenly from where he was slumped uncomfortably in the chair beside the bed. He rubbed his sore neck gingerly.

Alicia tossed again, struggling in her sheets.

"Alicia! Alicia, calm down." Charlie tried to free her from the tangled net of sheets. "It's ok."

The sound of his voice seemed to soothe her. The deep frown that creased her forehead smoothed slightly and she stopped struggling.

Charlie sighed. "Come on Ali," he whispered. "Get better."

As he turned to leave the room to make some tea, he heard a faint whisper, so quiet he almost thought he had imagined it.

"_I love you Charlie."_


	32. St Mungo's

**Chapter 32: St. Mungo's **

* * *

Alicia blinked blearily. She felt drowsy, light-headed and her head was pounding. She sat up dizzily and looked around her. She didn't recognise her surroundings.

Where am I? she wondered. A feeling of anxiousness came over her. She tried to remember what had happened but she could only remember vague emotions. Fear, panic, nausea.

She glanced around the room, taking in the surroundings. The room was unfamiliar. She had never been here before. It was a bright room, small but full of sunlight. Someone had drawn back the curtains and bright daylight was casting a warm glow around the room.

The windows had been flung open and a warm breeze drifted in, carrying in the delicious scent of freshly cut grass. Alicia clambered out of bed. Looking down, she saw she was wearing a pair of grey cotton trousers and a navy camisole. She frowned. They weren't her clothes. Nor did she remember ever putting them on.

Wandering over to the window, she gazed out and saw from the window a pleasant view of haphazard garden allotments scattered behind the house like crazy paving. She stood by the window for a moment, breathing in the fresh air, relishing the feel of the warm breeze on her face.

She looked around anxiously for her wand and saw it lying on the bedside table. Hurrying to fetch it, she hastily stowed it in the waistband of her trousers. Then she went over to the door and opened it cautiously.

As she did so, she found herself stepping into a small but cosy flat. There was a large fireplace at one end of the room in front of which was a large sofa. There was a small kitchen at the other end of the room, with panelled wooden counters. She wandered around absently, picking up things here and there.

"Alicia?" a voice said suddenly from behind her. She whirled around in fright, pressing a hand to her thumping heart.

"Charlie?" she frowned.

He was standing in front of her. "You're better."

"What happened? I don't remember much."

Charlie grimaced and wandered over to the kitchen. "Your parents were….attacked. When you found them, you came here to find me. I sent the Order to fetch your parents and take them to St. Mungo's. You were very sick. You've been here for a week."

"A week?" Alicia echoed. "But, my parents. My parents- are they ok?" Her voice was full of fear.

"Yes, they're going to be alright," Charlie said.

Alicia stood silently for a moment, just watching him tentatively.

"Thank you Charlie," Alicia said quietly after a pause.

He glanced up sharply. "For what?"

"For taking care of me; for helping me and my parents."

"I did what I had to," he said indifferently, turning away with a shrug.

"Charlie , I- I'm sorry about...I think we should talk-"

"Not now, Alicia," Charlie interrupted, reaching up to the cupboard and taking out two mugs.

She shut her mouth abruptly, stung.

"How are you feeling?"

Alicia frowned at the sudden change of subject. "I'm fine."

"Good," he said briskly, pouring out two cups of coffee. "We can go and visit your parents."

He picked up his cup, thrust the other into her hands and walked back to his room. Alicia stood still for a moment. She desperately wanted to talk to Charlie but she didn't know what to say.

Her heart ached as she thought of the look on his face after he'd kissed her. So blank. So emotionless. It was like a knife through the heart. Did he care at all? Did he regret it?

She knew Angelina was right. She did love him. How else could she describe how she felt about him? The pain she felt when she argued with him, the fear that gripped her when she knew he was in danger, that swooping feeling of happiness when he smiled at her. She couldn't explain it any other way.

* * *

"Alicia!"

Angelina bounded across the hospital room and hugged her. Fred, George and Katie came barrelling over too and enveloped her in a huge hug.

Charlie had brought her here to St. Mungo's. It had felt strange to go up to the reception desk and ask for directions when she had been working there for three weeks previously.

"Guys, stop! You're….squishing….me!" Alicia said, laughing and gasping for breath.

"Thank goodness you're better. You had us worried, Ali," Fred said, wagging a disapproving finger at her. She laughed and punched him lightly on the arm.

"Your parents are through here," Angelina said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

They entered the room where Alicia's parents were sitting on twin hospital beds. Alicia sprinted over to them and flung herself into their arms. "I was so worried about you!"

"Let's leave them alone, shall we?" said Katie, smiling fondly at the scene.

The five of them quietly snuck from the room. "Coffee?" Angelina suggested.

* * *

"So, you and Charlie are friends again then?" Angelina said, nudging Alicia as the three girls sat having lunch in the dining room of the Leaky Cauldron a few hours later.

Alicia looked hesitant. "Well…"

"Well what?" Katie demanded. "Hasn't he spoken to you yet about-" She trailed off, looking rather sheepish but at the same time, a touch frustrated.

"I haven't really had the chance to talk to him yet. I haven't told him yet that I-" Now it was Alicia who broke off. She looked away from Katie and Angelina's searching eyes and fiddled with the label of her Butterbeer bottle.

"That you love him?" Angelina put in helpfully.

Alicia looked up at Angelina with a sigh. "You two are going to say you told me so, aren't you?"

"How could we not?" Katie grinned. "You really should listen to us more often. We're always right."

Alicia sighed heavily, her face serious. "I'm just really confused. I didn't know how I felt about him. I was so angry at him, but I couldn't get him out of my head. I thought that if I tried to stop thinking about him or seeing him, then the feeling would go away. But it just got worse."

Angelina gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I know just how you feel," she said sympathetically.

"Oh you do?" Katie said at once.

Angelina blushed furiously. "I didn't mean….I was just being reassuring…I don't," she hedged.

Alicia and Katie exchanged knowing looks.

"Come on, let's go and find the boys," said Angelina hastily before they could pursue the subject any further. "I think Fred mentioned something about Florean's…"

* * *

"Right, well I'm going to head home," Angelina said, standing up with a sigh. "I've got to get an early night before tomorrow. I foresee some hard work ahead."

She looked meaningfully at the twins, whom they had found with Charlie, downing ice cream sundaes like shots.

"I suggest you two get home sharpish. You know your mother will have your heads if you're late. She's so nervy these days since...er..." She glanced nervously over at Alicia and exchanged an anxious look with Charlie. "Well," she said, in a falsely cheery tone. "I'll see you four tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Er…goodnight," Alicia said, frowning slightly in confusion. "What was that all about?" she asked a moment later, turning to Charlie.

He hastily straightened out his worried expression. "What? Oh, er nothing. Nothing."

Alicia frowned in displeasure but didn't pursue the subject any further. "What's tomorrow?" she asked curiously.

"Ginny's birthday," interjected George. "Mum's really going overboard this year. Big fancy party. If I were you, I'd stay out of the way until strictly necessary. And Ange is right; we'd really better be getting back."

"Night, lovebirds," Fred said chirpily, with a grin. Alicia glowered at him.

"We should go too," Charlie said at once, getting up and pulling out his wallet.

"I'm sorry Charlie," Alicia said suddenly, a strange look on her face.

"For what?" he asked distractedly, counting out the money with a frown.

"For staying with you so long. I can go home if you like."

"Don't be stupid, of course you can't," Charlie said dismissively. "You can't be alone; certainly not in that house. Come on." He took her hand and turned on the spot.

As they apparated with a crack into the living room of Charlie's flat, he turned to her abruptly.

"Why did you come?"

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"Why me? Why did you come to find me when you found your parents?"

Alicia hesitated for a moment, unsure what to say.

"Because I knew I'd be safe with you," she said at last.

Charlie nodded, wearing that same indifferent expression and turned away.

"I'm going to order in tonight; it's late," he said briskly. "Anything you want?"

Alicia looked over at him and couldn't help but smile as he tried to use the phone upside down. She went over and took the phone from his hands.

"I'll do it," she said softly.

* * *

"Ok, Charlie," Alicia said at last, stacking the dirty plates on the sideboard. "You've been avoiding talking to me all day. You barely said a word to me all through dinner. We need to talk."

Charlie sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Alicia finished clearing the plates and swivelled to face him, leaning against the counter, arms firmly folded.

"Alicia," Charlie began, his face impassive and his voice steady, "There's really not much to talk about."

"But in the forest, you...you and…me, we-"

"That was a mistake Alicia," Charlie interrupted. Alicia was stunned for a moment, like she'd just been shot. "It didn't mean anything, I promise. It was just a big mistake. And I'm sorry for that."

Alicia could hardly bear to hear what he was saying. Every word was like a knife through her heart. "And you already know that I'm sorry for what I did about the tournament. But I thought you'd forgiven me…after what I did for you and your parents."

He glanced up at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to argue. But Alicia couldn't speak. She felt like her heart had just been ripped in two and thrown across the room.

"I have forgiven you," she said finally. "You saved my parents' lives. And you were just trying to protect me." Alicia's voice was lifeless, drained of all emotion. With a blank expression, she turned away from him and strode into her room before her face could betray her real emotions, before he could see the tears of hurt that had sprung to her eyes.

He didn't love her.


	33. Hurt

**Chapter 33: Hurt**

* * *

"So what's up with you two?" Katie asked, out of the corner of her mouth, as she and Alicia sat peeling potatoes at the kitchen table of the Burrow the next afternoon. She nodded over to where Charlie was helping Bill to carry the long dining room table into the garden.

"Mum, can't we just use magic for this?" Bill was complaining. This was followed by a stream of high-pitched scolding in which the words "Fred" and "George" were heavily featured.

"What d'you mean?" Alicia said distractedly.

"You know exactly what I mean," Katie reproached her, giving her a look. Alicia turned away from Katie's disapproving expression and glanced out the window.

She sighed as she watched Charlie laughing with Bill. It was hard to see him look so happy when all she felt was hurt.

She turned back to Katie. "Nothing," she said firmly. "Nothing's up; everything's back to normal. Back as it should be."

She mustered a smile but Katie didn't look convinced. She pursed her lips and went back to peeling her potatoes.

* * *

"Alicia dear, you wouldn't mind giving me a hand with these napkins, would you?" Mrs Weasley dumped an enormous pile of napkins into Alicia's hands and set about trying to straighten the table cloth.

The long oak dining table had been placed outside and was surrounded by an assortment of chairs. Beside it was a small white marquee under which was a round circular dance floor.

"Er… sure, Mrs Weasley. Exactly how many people are coming? Because it seems like you've invited the whole village!" Alicia said somewhat incredulously.

Mrs Weasley gave a nervous high-pitched laugh. "Just a few friends and relatives, dear," she said hurriedly and bustled off back towards the house.

Alicia raised her eyebrows and turned back to folding the napkins.

"Need a hand there?"

The sound of Charlie's voice made her jump. She looked up at him, feeling her heart pound erratically. She hastily cast her eyes down and focused on folding to try and slow her heartbeat.

She reached over and handed him a pile of napkins. "Why are so many people coming to this party?" she asked a moment later. "Your mother told me it was just a few friends and relatives, but somehow I don't quite believe her."

She glanced over at Charlie suspiciously. He didn't look at her. But she could see his blue eyes were troubled.

"It's nothing. There's just been a few safety precautions taken, that's all," he said quickly. "Since You-Know-Who's return. Can't be too careful after what…you know, happened."

Alicia snorted. "Right, I get it, _that's_ what all this is," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm, waving an arm at all the napkins. "What exactly do they _expect_ is going to happen? You-Know-Who's just going to swoop in here and crash a young girl's _birthday_ party?"

She shook her head in bemusement. She glanced at Charlie out of the corner of her eye. He was looking worried.

"No, of course not. That would be absurd," he muttered, seeming distracted. "Look, I'd better go and see if Mum needs any help with the…"

He trailed off and hurried back to the house, leaving Alicia sitting alone, confused and concerned.

* * *

"Where is everyone?" Alicia asked Fred an hour later, once she had finished with the napkins. He, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting in the kitchen looking bored and glum.

"They're in a meeting," he said, jerking his head towards the sitting room. "A _secret _one, Ali. Don't even try it. We did, and Mum yelled at us for about half an hour."

Alicia ignored him and stood up at once but George grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"We're serious, Ali."

"Don't you want to hear what they're talking about?" Alicia retorted. "What's so important us _kids _can't hear about?"

"We can't. If Mum catches us again, she will ground us for life," Fred said, shaking his head.

"You, on the other hand," began George, a grin spreading across his face. "You can. Everyone loves you. Here, take this." He flicked a pair of long fleshy coloured wires at her.

She caught them with a confused expression. "And these are?"

"Extendable Ears. One of our newest inventions," Fred told her, looking proud.

Alicia chuckled. "You two will be famous one day, I'm sure of it." And she hurried out.

* * *

"We should have been more careful," Charlie was saying.

"About what? How could we have foreseen the attack?" It was Remus' voice that spoke up.

"No, Charlie's right. If You-Know-Who is back, we need to be taking more precautions. Does Alicia know?" Sirius asked quietly.

Alicia's eyes widened in curiosity as she heard her name.

"About her uncle?" Charlie murmured in a low voice. Alicia craned her neck closer to try and hear their words as they dropped their voices to a whisper. "No, she doesn't know anything about it."

"Should she be told?" The voice of Arthur Weasley was serious.

"Of course not!" Mrs Weasley's voice was firm and shrill. "It's just not right to burden the poor child! She's too young!"

Alicia frowned. She knew Mrs Weasley was being kind but she couldn't help but feel a surge of annoyance. Why on earth shouldn't she be told? Surely she had a right to know about whatever they were talking about?

Bill was speaking now and as Alicia listened, she felt a surge of gratitude towards him. "She's not a child, Mum," he said. "She's nearly eighteen. I think she can handle it."

There was a murmur of disagreement. Alicia could hear Charlie's voice among them.

"Alright, alright." The rough voice of Mad-Eye cut through the mutterings. "I think most of us agree with Molly in saying that…."

Alicia had heard enough. She turned away from the door and stumped into the kitchen, flinging herself down at the kitchen table with an angry sigh.

"Everything alright?" Hermione asked, as they all looked up with interest.

"Nothing interesting to hear," Alicia said sullenly, handing back the Ears. She scowled deeply. If there was one thing she hated, it was being kept in the dark. And she was going to find out what was going on. One way or another.

* * *

"Bill!" Alicia grabbed his arm and yanked him into the living room.

"Alicia? Is something wrong?" His expression was immediately concerned.

"Yes, _actually_," Alicia said in annoyance. "What the hell is going on? Why are they about ten people from the Ministry here? At Ginny's _birthday _party? And why the hell won't anyone tell me what's happening?"

"I….honestly don't know, Alicia. I'm sorry that I can't-"

"Don't give me that!" Alicia interrupted furiously. Bill shut his mouth abruptly. "You know exactly what's going on. Of course you do!"

"What's going on in here?" Charlie said, coming into the room. "The party starting in half an hour and you're not changed, Alicia."

Alicia looked from Bill to Charlie and back to Bill again. "Don't think I won't find out what's going on," she hissed at Bill, before turning on her heel and striding out.

"Bloody hell!" Bill exclaimed. "You really need to keep that girl of yours on a closer leash, Charlie!"

"She's not _my _girl," Charlie said, glancing back at the door through which Alicia had just exited. "And don't blame me. It's not my fault everyone else here is awful at keeping anything on the down low. Now come on, Dad wants to talk to us."

* * *

"Charlie, what the hell is wrong with you?" Katie demanded, coming into the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Er Katie, we're kind of in the middle of a-" Charlie began, gesturing to the group of people gathered in the kitchen, but Katie interrupted him.

"I need to talk to you," she said, dragging him from the room.

"Alright, alright!" he huffed. "What? What is it?"

"It's about Alicia."

"What about her? Is she ok? Has something happened?" Charlie's face was panicked.

"No!" Katie said, frowning. "What is your problem? Why haven't you told her how you feel about her?"

"What do you mean? I-"

"Don't tell me you don't love her, because I know for a fact that that's a lie!" Katie interrupted furiously.

Charlie looked at her helplessly.

"Just tell her, Charlie," Katie said, her voice gentler.

"But I- I can't. She doesn't….she wouldn't-"

"What? The charming Charlie Weasley is lost for words? I wouldn't have believed it," Katie remarked contemptuously. "If you don't hurry up, you're going to lose her, Charlie."

She patted him on the shoulder as she left. Charlie stood there for a moment, his thoughts tangled and confused. His emotions were in turmoil; shock, love and most of all…fear.

* * *

**A/N. **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review if you can : )


	34. Men Cloaked in Black

**Chapter 34: Men Cloaked in Black**

* * *

"Ali? Are you ready yet? The party's about to start!" Fred called through the door of the bedroom the girls were using as a changing room. "I hope you're decent because I'm coming in."

He flung the door open. Alicia was sitting on one of the beds, looking extremely displeased.

"One of these days, Fred Weasley, I'm not going to be decent and you're going to get a nasty shock," Alicia said reprovingly, not even looking up.

Fred chuckled. "Nasty? I don't think that's how I would be describing it," he said, winking at her as she glared at him. "Now come on, what's wrong?" he asked, coming over to sit beside her. "You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thanks," she said, smiling faintly. "Something's going on. Something's happening tonight. But no one will tell me what it is. But I know it's something to do with me."

"You overheard something." Fred's voice was serious for once.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Don't worry, Al," Fred said reassuringly, giving her a hug. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing serious. They would have told you otherwise, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, but she didn't sound very convinced.

"Now come on," he said, pulling her to her feet. "We've got a party to go to!"

She couldn't help but laugh as she followed him downstairs.

* * *

Alicia enjoyed the party; it was nice to be with her friends again, and the dinner Molly had prepared was spectacular to say the least, but there was always a constant nagging worry on Alicia's mind that something was about to happen any second, and she kept catching little anxious looks exchanged between the Weasleys and the people from the Ministry.

She'd been introduced to the Ministry people of course; serious-looking Emmeline Vance, friendly pink cheeked Hestia Jones, somebody Diggle, the tall dark man Shacklebolt….but knowing their names didn't make her trust them any more.

"I just wish I knew what they were doing here," Alicia muttered to Fred as she danced with him to a warbling song by Celestina Warbeck.

"Drop it, Ali," Fred warned.

She rolled her eyes and looked away, catching Charlie's eye. She looked away hastily.

"Merlin, I think my feet are about to fall off!" Alicia exclaimed half an hour later, dropping into a seat beside Angelina.

"Charlie can't take his eyes off you," Angelina remarked approvingly. "You _do_ look beautiful. You can thank me later."

Alicia chuckled. "I'll be sure to," she laughed. She ignored Angelina's other comment. The very thought of it made her heart do strange flips. She didn't want to feel like that anymore. Not when she knew he didn't feel the same.

"Ali, dance with me," George said, waltzing past and yanking her out of her seat.

"George!" she protested.

But he just grinned and whirled her off. Charlie dropped into the empty seat beside Angelina.

"Enjoying the party?" he said, smiling at the festivities.

"Yes," Angelina said, not looking at him but gazing out onto the dance floor. "I don't know why you don't just tell her. It's so obvious; a blind man could see it."

And she got up and was promptly swept merrily into Fred's arms and out onto the dance floor.

Charlie shook his head wearily but couldn't suppress a small smile at the perceptiveness of Alicia's best friends.

At that moment, there was a loud bang and a scream. Charlie looked up sharply and saw five tall figures appear, cloaked in black, each one masked to hide his face.

Charlie swore loudly and leapt to his feet, immediately drawing his wand.

At once there was uproar. Six more Death Eaters appeared and there were fresh screams of terror. Chairs and tables were overturned. People fled in all directions. Jets of green and red light bounced off trees and blasted the party scene apart.

Here and there, Death Eaters grabbed people, shaking them roughly, searching.

Charlie glanced around hurriedly for people from the Order. They were fighting back but the Death Eaters were strong, and there were lots of them.

He looked around desperately for Alicia but she seemed to have disappeared. Angelina stumbled over to him and clutched at his arm.

"What's happening?" she screamed. "What's going on? Who are they looking for?"

Charlie frowned. "What?"

"They're all asking the same question. They just keep saying: 'Who is he?' What do they mean, Charlie? What are they talking about?" Her voice was full of fear.

"I don't know, Ange," he lied quickly. "Get inside the house quickly!"

She obeyed him and stumbled off. "Alicia!" Charlie caught sight of her clutching the side of the house for support. He sprinted over to her.

Her dress was ripped, there was blood on her face from a cut on her cheek and her eyes were wide with terror.

"Charlie! What's happening?"

Before he had a chance to answer, he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a pair of strong arms and flung to the ground.

He heard Alicia scream but he couldn't see her anymore. And suddenly he felt pain like a red-hot knife tear through his body. He screamed in agony, his face contorting with the pain of it. Redness obscured his vision. He couldn't see, he couldn't think.

"Crucio!" a voice snarled. And again came the unbearable pain. He could feel his brain screaming for release. "Who is he?" the malicious voice whispered threateningly. "Who is he impersonating?"

"I…don't know," Charlie said, through gritted teeth. Another wave of pain shot through him. "I don't know. They didn't tell me! I swear, they didn't tell me!"

The pair of rough hands flung him to the ground again and then were gone. Alicia rushed over to him, kneeling over his body, her voice full of fear.

"Charlie! Charlie, are you ok? What's going on? Who are they looking for?"

Charlie got to his feet hurriedly. He quickly took Alicia's arm and pulled her into the broom shed beside the house.

"Just _stay here_," he ordered her urgently. "Stay hidden."

He darted out of the shed and searched the chaos for one of the Order members. He caught sight of Lupin fighting one of the hooded figures, sending a Stunning curse straight into his chest, knocking him out cold.

"Remus!" Charlie shouted, running over. "They know! They know!"

Lupin jerked his head up at the sound of his urgent voice. "What?" His expression was a mixture of fear and shock. "But how can they possibly-"

Realisation quickly dawned on him. "They must have had a tip-off from someone. You have to find Alicia. Now. They're going to try and take her once they can't find him. Find her. And get her away from here. Keep her safe. We'll send a Patronus once it's safe! Go! Get out of here!"

Charlie nodded immediately and sprinted back to the broom shed where Alicia was waiting, her shoulders shaking with fear.

"Charlie! Please! You have to tell me what's going on!" Her voice was pleading.

"Come on!" he said roughly, grabbing her hand and turning on the spot.

* * *

"Where are we?" Alicia said at once as they appeared. They were standing a moonlit hill that seemed to roll on for miles. There were no villages or houses anywhere in sight. Everywhere was silent and dark. Only the bright half-moon and the stars gave any light.

"The Chiltern Hills," Charlie said brusquely. "First place I could think of. I came here with my family for a camping holiday when I was six."

He turned away quickly and started casting spells.

"What are you doing?"

"Just a few protective spells. They won't keep much out; just prevent Muggles from finding us. But we have to keep safe until that's all over."

"But why?"

"Alicia, there's some things I need to explain to you. Things which probably should have been explained a long time ago."

* * *

**A/N. **Any guesses as to what's going on? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading : )


	35. Love and Secrets

**Chapter 35: Love and Secrets**

"_Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.__" - Lao Tzu_

* * *

"Alicia, there's something I should tell you about your uncle," Charlie began quietly as they sat together on the cold hillside, sheltering from the wind under a nearby tree, watching the silent night.

"My uncle?" Alicia frowned.

"Your mother's brother."

"I don't remember him very well. I've only ever met him once. I only vaguely remember it. I was four."

"Yes," Charlie nodded. "There's a reason you only ever met him once."

"Yes I know," Alicia said. "My mother and my uncle don't get on well. They're not on speaking terms."

Charlie looked at her, an almost sympathetic look in his eyes. She frowned as she caught his expression. "What?" she asked, confused.

"That's what your parents had you believe," Charlie said softly.

"Why? Why would they lie to me?" Alicia didn't understand.

"Alicia, your uncle….is a wizard."

"He's what? But I…that doesn't make any sense…why didn't they tell me?"

"Your parents, they didn't want you to know about magic…at least not until you were eleven and they knew whether or not you had magic. They didn't know, you see. They didn't know whether or not you would get magic. It was much more probable that you wouldn't, as neither of your parents did."

Alicia could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had always believed that her parents had known just as little of magic as she did when she got her letter on her eleventh birthday.

"They didn't want to tell you about magic, and then have it taken away from you if you didn't develop magic. It would be too cruel. So they kept that part of their life from you. Your uncle rarely came to visit because they didn't want you to know about his magic, and you always were an uncommonly inquisitive child." Charlie chuckled as he said this. "They were right."

Alicia didn't smile. She was too busy processing what she was hearing.

"The main reason you only ever saw him once was because of his job," Charlie continued. "Your uncle is a secret Auror. He works for the Order, a group of wizards who work against You-Know-Who of which I am a member, but under cover. He moves around all the time, from place to place. He leaves no connections with anyone. Anyone who could get hurt."

"I think I know where this is going," Alicia said slowly. "Go on."

"The time when you were four, your uncle was running from someone. Most likely one of You-Know-Who's followers the first time, before his downfall. Your uncle had nowhere else to go. He hid at your parents' house for a short while before escaping to another country."

He fell silent for a moment, letting her gather her thoughts. Then he continued.

"Just after You-Know-Who's return, your uncle managed to infiltrate one of You-Know-Who's secret meetings and glean some valuable information and, in his escape, he killed one of You-Know-Who's best Death Eaters, alerting them to the fact that there had been an intrusion. They saw your uncle as he fled, and his identity was compromised."

Alicia listened intently as Charlie spoke.

"You-Know-You then sent his followers after your uncle to hunt him down, find out what he knew and who he'd told and kill him. But they had no leads. He'd never been connected with anyone. No one knew him. No one knew where he was. And then they found your parents. Someone gave them the information of his visit fourteen years ago. They tracked down your parents and…tortured them for information, for the whereabouts of your uncle. Either they didn't tell or they didn't know because your uncle wasn't found. The Death Eaters must have heard you coming back home because they left without covering their tracks or killing your parents.

"Your uncle was, at this point, in hiding. But he was finding it increasingly difficult to stay in contact with the Order without giving his whereabouts away. Not only were You-Know-Who's followers after him, but Lucius Malfoy, who I'm afraid is deep in the Ministry, managed to convince the Ministry that your uncle was a dangerous fugitive. Therefore your uncle couldn't communicate with us by Floo or by letter. Everything was being watched. But he had vital information he needed to get to us.

"He came up with a plan to use Ginny's birthday party as a cover to which he could come, in disguise using Polyjuice Potion, and give us the information. Through links in the anti- You-Know-Who movement, he managed to get the message of the plan to us. But we suspected that You-Know-Who's supporters might guess that he might try and contact us tonight so we brought in Order reinforcements in case they tried an attack. What we didn't realise was that they had a tip-off from someone, a spy, and the Death Eaters knew our plan, the plan that he would be in disguise.

"Once we realised that they knew of our plan, we worried that you would be their next target. Because the Death Eaters soon realised that they wouldn't be able to find out who your uncle was disguised as before he managed to get away. So they would take you as a hostage in an attempt to draw your uncle to them, now that they know of your connection to him."

He fell silent and they sat in silence for many long minutes.

"So…so the Death Eaters are looking for me now?" Alicia asked, her voice shaking.

"Yes, but they won't find you. They can't. There's no way of them finding us here. We're miles away…and in the middle of nowhere."

"And we're waiting for a Patronus to tell us it's safe to come back?"

Charlie nodded. "But it could be a while. Here, take my jacket; it's freezing." He shrugged off his jacket and draped it around her shaking shoulders.

She gave a weak smile. "I can't believe all this is happening."

"I know," he said gently, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I know it's a lot to take in right now. But it will all blow over. And at least your parents are safe in St. Mungo's."

"But what about _your _family? All the people back at the Burrow?"

"They'll be fine. Don't you worry about them. They'll be just fine. Most of them are trained Aurors. They're more than a match for the Death Eaters."

* * *

"Alicia?" Charlie whispered softly, giving her a gentle shake. She had fallen asleep on his lap.

She sat up slowly with a yawn. "Sorry, did I fall asleep?"

He nodded, looking down at her with a small smile. As she looked up at him, she caught that same intense look in his eyes that she'd seen once before. She stared at him for a moment, lost in the intensity of his eyes, her heart thudding.

"I'm so scared, Charlie," she said quietly, looking up at him, ignoring the pounding of her heart.

Her face was so full of fear that Charlie put a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his warm chest. He kissed the top of her head softly and just held her in his arms.

"I'm scared too," he said.

She frowned in surprise, a tiny crease forming on her forehead. "I didn't think you were scared of anything."

Charlie gazed over the top of her head absently for a moment, feeling a flood of memories rush through his head. Alicia Petrified, lying pale and still in the Hospital Wing. The day he found out she wanted to enter the tournament. The thought of her fighting a dragon. Her lying sick in the Hospital Wing. Her shouting at him in the forest.

"There's only one thing I'm scared of," he said finally, looking down at her, the moonlight sparkling in his eyes.

She didn't speak but her eyes asked the question for her.

"I'm scared of losing you."

Alicia sighed sadly.

"I was just afraid of a broken heart," she whispered, closing her eyes as he played with her hair. "but I think I locked it away so much that I broke it myself."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Charlie reached down and brushed it away. He stroked her hair softly.

"We all make mistakes once in a while, love," Charlie said gently. "More often than not, they're fixable."

Alicia closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of his heart beating. They sat together in silence for a long time. So long Alicia almost felt she was asleep.

"I love you, Alicia. You know that, don't you?" Charlie whispered at last. "I've loved you for so much longer than I'd let myself admit."

She jerked her head up and stared at him for a moment. "You what?"

"I love you," he repeated, his voice steadier and stronger this time.

"But you….you said that our kiss was a mistake. You said that-"

"I know," he sighed, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. "But I lied. I couldn't understand how I felt about you. And I think I was still angry at you for not coming after me after I kissed you. I thought you didn't care about me. I think most of all, I was scared. Scared of feeling that way about you."

He fell silent. Alicia gently reached up, very slowly, and stroked his cheek. Then she said, in almost a whisper, "I love you too, Charlie."

She felt his arms tighten comfortingly around her ever so slightly.

"I know that now, love," he murmured, tracing circles with his thumb on her hand. "You've told me that once before. I just didn't quite believe it at the time."

Alicia looked up at him in surprise. "When?"

"You muttered it in your sleep…when you were ill. I thought I'd imagined it."

Alicia smiled and closed her eyes contentedly, feeling herself drifting off to sleep, the reassuring sound of Charlie's heartbeat soft in her ear.

* * *

**A/N. **At long last! Thank you for sticking with this story : ) There's still a good few more chapters to go!

There is a sequel in the works somewhere. I'll have to get to work on getting that down on paper soon!

Thank you all for reading!


	36. As Simple as a Kiss

**Chapter 36: As Simple as a Kiss**

* * *

When Alicia woke again, it was with some confusion. She could feel someone's arms around her. Whose? She tilted her head up slightly and caught sight of Charlie's peaceful face just above her.

He looked so beautiful when he was sleeping. There was no pain or grief on his face; not a care in the world. She slowly and carefully untangled herself from his body and stood up, stretching her stiff limbs.

She looked around her, wondering where she was and what had happened. And then everything came flooding back, like a bad dream. The party, the Death Eaters, everything Charlie had told her about her uncle. She shook her head, wishing she could just expel all those thoughts, forget they'd ever happened. But she couldn't.

She glanced back over at Charlie who was still sleeping peacefully. Slipping off his jacket that she was wearing, she gently placed it over him and set off over the hills.

She wandered over the dark moonlit hill, careful not to lose her way, breathing in the fresh night air. Everything felt sort of surreal.

She sat down on the grass which was now wet with the night dew and hugged her knees to her chest, trying to take in everything that had happened over the past few hours.

Suddenly something moving to her left caught her eye. Her heart leapt, immediately assuming it was someone who had followed them, but as she looked closer she saw it was some kind of animal.

It did not come close at first, almost as though it were shy, testing to see if she was a friend or a foe. Then it came closer and as it came out into the faint moonlight she could see that it was a strange silver colour. Realisation quickly dawned on her.

It was a small silver weasel. The Patronus.

As she watched it breathlessly, it turned its bright little head towards her, opened its small mouth and spoke to her in the friendly familiar voice of Arthur Weasley.

"_It's safe to come back. Everyone is fine. No one is hurt." _

She smiled and leapt to her feet, tearing over the hill.

"Charlie! Charlie!"

At the sound of her voice, Charlie jerked awake and looked up to see her careering towards him.

"The Patronus is here! We can go home!"

Charlie yawned and got up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "Where are we?" he asked in confusion.

"I asked _you _that exact same question not three hours ago," Alicia laughed. "We're in the Chiltern Hills. And now we're going back to the Burrow."

Charlie shook his head in bewilderment, clearly still half asleep. She rolled her eyes, put an arm round his waist and turned on the spot.

An outbreak of voices hit them as soon as they appeared in the backyard of the Burrow.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Molly's voice cried and she flung her arms around the pair of them. She ushered them inside, beating away the people who tried to ask them questions.

"Stop asking questions! Give them some space. They need sleep," she declared determinedly, taking them both by the shoulder and sitting them down firmly at the kitchen table.

The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione gathered around the kitchen table, all eager to hear news. But Molly wouldn't let them.

"No one is asking any questions tonight. They need some space and they need to sleep. It's one in the morning. Come on you lot, all of you, back to bed."

She chivvied them upstairs and they reluctantly obeyed. She turned to Alicia with a kindly smile.

"Alicia, dear, why don't you go up to bed and get a little rest? You've had quite a night. Charlie, be a gentleman, take her upstairs."

Charlie rolled his eyes but took Alicia's hand. Alicia suppressed a snigger.

"Goodnight, Molly," she said with a grateful smile.

"Goodnight dear. You're alright, aren't you? I expect Charlie's told you everything hasn't he?"

"Yes," Alicia admitted.

Molly heaved a great sigh. "Well, I suppose it's for the best. Sleep well."

The two of them walked slowly up the stairs, somewhat reluctant to leave each other. When they finally reached the second floor landing, Alicia turned to Charlie with a smile.

"Goodnight Charlie," she said softly before turning away towards her room.

"Wait, there's something I want to do," Charlie whispered, with a secretive smile, catching her hand and pulling her back. "But I want to do this right this time," Charlie said.

Alicia smiled as she understood the meaning in his words.

And as he leant down to kiss her, all the tension and confusion between them disappeared, like it had never even existed.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him as he kissed her. She kissed him back with all the pent-up frustrated feelings she'd been hiding for months.

And as they kissed, Alicia felt her senses suddenly heightened; she felt so alive, so awake, she suddenly noticed everything; the feel of his lips soft and warm against hers, the delicious smell of his aftershave, the feel of his soft hair between her fingers, his warm embrace around her safe and reassuring.

As she breathed in his scent, she felt almost intoxicated, as though she was drunk on the very scent of him, the very sensation of being so close.

When they finally broke apart, they both stood still for a moment, both breathless and lost for words.

"You're going to be the death of me," Charlie breathed, unable to suppress the brilliantly dazzling smile that was spreading across his face.

Alicia grinned back at him then, her face simply lit up with the joy of being near him. It astounded her how something as simple as a kiss could leave her feeling like this. Light-headed, breathless, almost giddy with happiness.

Charlie pulled back slightly and took her face gently in his hands, locking his eyes onto her face, memorising every detail.

Alicia hesitated, suddenly speechless for once under the intensity of his gaze. Overwhelmed for a moment, she reached up and kissed him again.

Then, standing on her tiptoes, she whispered back. "At least you'll die happy."

* * *

"I can't believe we have to go back to school tomorrow," Katie complained as they all sat in the kitchen at the Burrow, enjoying their last dinner together.

"Come on, you _know _you're excited to start N.E.W.T work," smirked Fred from across the table.

Katie narrowed her eyes and flicked a piece of carrot at him in irritation.

They had all spent the day in Diagon Alley, buying all their books and ingredients. It had felt rather surreal to Alicia, after the crazy summer she'd had. She half expected a Death Eater to jump out from behind a bookcase at any minute and snatch her away.

But the day passed just as normally as ever and the comforting feel of Charlie's hand in hers had made her feel safer.

She was almost sad to return to Hogwarts this year, not wanting to leave Charlie. It would take some getting used to not seeing him every day, but all the same she was excited for her last year at Hogwarts.

After the disaster of Ginny's birthday party, everything had been explained to her: all about her uncle, about the Order and its members, about Grimmauld Place. She didn't like the idea of Charlie being part of such a dangerous organisation but she knew there was nothing she could say that would change his mind. Besides, she had already decided that she wanted to join as soon as she left Hogwarts.

Her parents were almost fully recovered now and were staying at Grimmauld Place to ensure their safety. But she still worried about them. Yet another reason she didn't want to go back to Hogwarts.

"Cheer up, love," whispered Charlie in her ear. His voice brought her back to the present and out of her thoughts.

She gave him as convincing a smile as she could muster, and made an effort to push the worries from her mind and enjoy her last night of the summer.

* * *

"I'm going to send you an owl every day you know," Charlie said firmly, grinning as she rolled her eyes. "And if you don't reply within a day, I'm going to come and find you myself."

She snorted. "Come off it, Charlie. I'm going to be at Hogwarts. What can possibly happen to me there?"

"You'd be surprised; especially when it comes to you," Charlie said seriously.

She laughed and kissed him. "Letters take a long time to get to Romania, you know," she reminded him.

"I'm…not actually going to be in Romania this year," Charlie said.

"You're not?"

"No, I've decided to stay here to help with..er," he trailed off. "…you know, things," he finished lamely.

Alicia raised an eyebrow. "Things?" she repeated. "I'm guessing by your reluctance to tell me, that these are Order things you're talking about."

"Well, yes," he admitted. "Nothing dangerous of course," he hastened to add.

"Yes yes, of course. Because you _never _do anything dangerous," Alicia said sardonically but her face betrayed her anxiety.

"Don't worry about me…I'll be just fine," Charlie said soothingly.

"I don't think I have any other choice," Alicia said unhappily.

"I'm sorry, love, but someone needs to help fight You-Know-Who and help your uncle. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't taking the chance to do my bit."

"Alright, alright. Stop making me feel guilty for not wanting you to be a part of it," Alicia whined. "Just be careful."

"Same back to you," he grinned, kissing her. "I love you."

"Same back to you," she smiled, kissing him once more, before picking up her bags and following Katie onto the train.

"Stay safe!" Charlie called, as she leant out of the window one last time.

She smiled almost sadly and blew him a kiss. He watched her as the train pulled out of the station and she watched him until they had both lost each other from view. Alicia sighed heavily. They were facing dark times ahead. She could feel it.

* * *

**A/N. **Sorry this chapter took a long time to post! Took me ages to try and get it right. Hope I succeeded! Do tell me what you thought! : )


	37. Dolores Umbridge

**A/N. **Hi everyone….here's an extra-long chapter to make up for the delay! Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter 37: Dolores Umbridge**

* * *

_My dear Charlie_

_Being back is nice. It has to be said. I've missed the old castle, the ghosts, the lessons, the lake, Hagrid…the library of course! You know me. But of course I miss you like crazy too. _

_There's a new teacher this year to fill the Defence against the Dark Arts post. Any guesses as to how long she'll last? _

_How is everything going? I know you can't tell me any details by letter but nothing dangerous I hope. See you soon._

_I love you,_

_Alicia xx_

* * *

"Hem hem!" A shrill clearing of the throat broke through the cheerful "first-week-back" chatter of the seventh year Defence against the Dark Arts students.

The class fell silent. A short woman, with a face like a toad, wearing a sickeningly bright pink cardigan and matching bow on top of her mousy coloured hair, strode into the room, the sound of her heels clacking obnoxiously on the wooden floor.

There were a few titters and sniggers around the classroom.

"Wands away please," her shrill voice ordered. The class glanced at each other in dismay. "Please open your textbooks to page 10."

There was a ripple of muttering as the students put away their wands with bad grace and pulled out their textbooks.

"You will be studying the theory of this subject this year so textbooks at every lesson are vital. Those who do not obey my rules will find themselves in detention," she said, smiling falsely.

The class stared back at her coldly.

"But we'll have practical lessons at some point, won't we?" said one Hufflepuff boy, eyeing Umbridge with immediate dislike.

"I do not permit speaking out of turn in my classroom. Five points from Hufflepuff. You will put up your hand if you wish to speak. And no, we will not be practicing any spells for there is no need."

"No need?" said someone incredulously.

"Hand up!" Umbridge said shrilly. "You are hardly expecting an attack at school, are you? Therefore there is no need to practice the spells."

"But we've got our NEWTs coming up! How are supposed to pass the exam if we can't do the spells?" Fred said aggressively.

"You should have no trouble passing the exam if you study the theory correctly," Umbridge said in a sugary voice.

"But we can't-" began Angelina furiously.

"I can't see your hand!" interrupted Umbridge sweetly.

Angelina scowled and thrust her hand into the air.

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Johnson," Angelina spat. "You can't possible expect us to go into the exam without having practiced the spells at all?"

"That is exactly what we expect, Miss Johnson," Umbridge replied, smiling smugly and looking more like a toad than ever.

"But what about more important things?" Alicia said, finally losing patience.

"Hand!" Umbridge barked, rounding on her. Alicia stuck her hand in the air, glowering at Umbridge.

"Yes, Miss…?" Umbridge's voice grated on the ears of the students as they sat glaring at her from their seats.

"Spinnet," Alicia said angrily.

"Would you care to enlighten us with an example, Miss Spinnet?" Umbridge said, baring her pointed teeth in a sickeningly fake smile.

"Important things like…I don't know…the real world?" she said. "You-Know-Who is back and we need to be prepared for anything!"

Umbridge's expression hardened and the false smile slipped off her face.

"You will not tell lies in my classroom, Miss Spinnet," Umbridge said calmly.

"They're not lies!" protested Alicia furiously. "Surely you can't be naïve enough to actually believe all this Daily Prophet rubbish? Harry Potter-"

"Harry Potter," interrupted Umbridge. "is a liar."

"How dare you?" Alicia said, finally losing her temper altogether. "How dare you come in here and tell us what to believe? And by calling Harry Potter a liar, you are also calling our headmaster, Professor Dumbledore a liar too!"

"Detention, Miss Spinnet," said Umbridge triumphantly. "Next Saturday. 3 o'clock, my office."

"But Professor, that's the day of the first Hogsmeade visit," Alicia protested angrily.

"Good, maybe you'll learn your lesson. That liars are not tolerated in my classroom. Now turn to page 10. Now."

At the end of the lesson, the class filed out of the classroom miserably, muttering mutinously amongst themselves. Umbridge swept out looking extremely self-satisfied.

"Alicia, you really shouldn't get on her bad side," Angelina warned as they headed to lunch. "She'll only make your life miserable!"

"Let her try," Alicia muttered furiously. "I won't let her stand there and lie to our faces. I won't."

* * *

_Dear Charlie,_

_I'm afraid I can't make Hogsmeade next Saturday. I've got an all-afternoon detention with that horrid Professor Umbridge. She was telling lies and insulting Dumbledore and Harry! I couldn't just sit there and take it. _

_I'm sorry. Maybe the next visit? _

_Love Alicia_

* * *

"What's going on?" asked Harry with a frown, dropping into the seat beside Angelina at dinner.

Everyone was sitting around the table, gloomy faced and depressed.

"It's that new teacher Umbridge," Angelina told him. "She's a complete cow. She won't let any of us do practical magic. And she kept telling lies about…" She trailed off slightly, looking at Harry cautiously.

"About me and Dumbledore?" Harry said. "Yeah, I know. I just got a detention from her for standing up to her."

"So did Alicia," Angelina said, jerking her head over at Alicia who was sitting opposite her, talking to George with a gloomy expression.

"Something needs to be done about this!" Harry said furiously, glancing up at Umbridge at the teachers' table with loathing.

"We can't possibly take OWLs and NEWTs without doing any practical magic!" Hermione said crossly.

"Yeah and what about the fact that Voldemort is back?" Harry said angrily. "Does no one care about that?"

"Well, if she refuses to teach us, we'll just have to teach ourselves!" said Hermione firmly.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" asked Harry incredulously.

"You can teach us," said Hermione triumphantly. "You're a great teacher, Harry. I'm sure people would be interested."

"I would be," Angelina said with a shrug. "I need any teaching and practice I can get! Why don't you set up a meeting somewhere and tell people your idea?"

"That's great!" exclaimed Hermione happily.

Harry just looked at her doubtfully.

* * *

The next Saturday dawned fair and sunny. Alicia groaned as she remembered her detention. She couldn't believe she was missing such a beautiful day in Hogsmeade with Charlie. She got up and dressed irritably before stomping downstairs for breakfast.

She was in a thoroughly bad mood all morning. When two thirty swung around, she miserably waved goodbye to her friends and trudged back to the Common Room before heading to Umbridge's office.

Umbridge was waiting when she arrived, looking smug. As she entered, Umbridge pointed her to a large filing cabinet standing in the corner.

"I will not tolerate rudeness in my classroom, Miss Spinnet and you need to be taught a lesson. First you're going to organise every file in that cabinet into alphabetical order. And then when you're finished with that…and I would guess it will take you a good few hours, you'll be writing lines. How does that sound?" Umbridge's voice was gleeful.

Alicia gritted her teeth and ignored her.

The filing took her three hours. It was terribly boring and Alicia kept thinking how much she wanted to be at Hogsmeade with Charlie and her friends. It was almost unbearable.

Umbridge returned at six o'clock. "Finished, are you?"

Alicia nodded sullenly. Umbridge handed her a sharp black quill. "Now you will sit down at this desk and you will write out: 'I will not lose my temper."

"How many times?" Alicia asked boredly.

"As many times as it takes for it to _sink in_," Umbridge replied, smiling nastily. "I'll be back later. You must not stop writing or it'll be all the worse for you."

And she swept out of the room.

"She hasn't even given me any ink," muttered Alicia. "What am I supposed to do? Is it self-inking?"

She began to write on the parchment. There was suddenly a sharp stab of pain in the back of her left hand and words began to appear as she wrote, in blood red ink.

As she wrote, the stabbing pains worsened and, glancing at the back of her hand, she realised with horror that the words she had written on the page were starting to appear on the back of her hand, cutting into her skin.

She suddenly realised, with a wave of nausea, that the "ink" she was using was her own blood.

"That's sick," she thought.

But there was nothing she could do but write. She kept writing the words, over and over, until the back of her hand was raw and aching.

"I will not lose my temper." The words were cut into the back of her hand, shining red.

After an hour, Umbridge returned. "That should do, I think," she said smugly. "Have they made an impact?"

Alicia glowered at her. "Yes," she said bluntly.

"Then you may go."

Alicia strode from the room, her mind overwhelmed with fury. How dare she? The horrible hag! She was even worse than she'd first thought. This was inhumane.

She clutched her stinging hand and examined it. Her stomach gave a growl but the pain in her hand was stronger. She hurried up to the Common Room to fetch a bandage.

Angelina was waiting for her there.

"There you are!" she exclaimed as Alicia entered. "I was beginning to worry about you. Are you coming down for dinner?"

"Maybe," Alicia replied, hastily hiding her hand behind her back. She didn't want Angelina to see it. She knew what her reaction would be. She'd fuss and get angry and insist she go and see Dumbledore.

"I have some important news for you. It's about the idea for the Defence against the Dark Arts club," Angelina said excitedly.

Alicia looked up with interest.

"We all met in the Hog's Head today. There were loads of people there. Loads of people signed up! Harry's going to teach us. It's perfect."

Alicia soon forgot her detention and looked excited. "When does it start?"

"We're looking for a place to practice. Somewhere secret," Angelina explained. "Harry will let us all know. I wrote down your name on the list for you."

Alicia grinned. "This is going to be so great! We'll show that toad Umbridge!"

"I'd better go down to dinner; don't want to miss it! You sure you're ok?" Angelina asked, heading to the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry," Alicia said quickly. At that moment, her stomach rumbled. Angelina frowned slightly as she headed out but did not pursue it.

Alicia flung herself down on the sofa by the fire with an enormous sigh and examined her throbbing hand.

"Rough day?" said a familiar voice. Alicia's eyes flew open. There was Charlie, sitting beside her on an armchair, grinning. "Ah, I've missed the old place," he sighed.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Alicia asked incredulously. "And where did you come from?"

"That's not the reaction I was hoping for," remarked Charlie in a mock hurt tone. He grinned mischievously at her. "Well, since you couldn't make our date, I thought I'd bring our date to you."

An uncontrollable smile broke out on Alicia's face. "But how did you get in?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question, love. Surely you haven't forgotten? Just because I no longer study here doesn't mean I'm not still one of the best Hogwarts mischief-makers of all."

"Of course, the passageway through Honeydukes," Alicia remembered, shaking her head, an expression of half-amusement half-disapproval on her face.

"Well come on then, let's go!" Charlie said smiling and pulling her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Alicia asked, grinning but Charlie had stopped dead. He was looking at her hand which he now held in his.

"What's this?" he asked, his voice very serious.

"It's nothing, Charlie. Just a cut. Don't worry about it," Alicia said hastily, trying to pull her hand from his. But he was too strong.

"Was this part of your detention?" he said incredulously.

"Yes," she admitted. "But it's really nothing. It doesn't even hurt."

"That's barbaric!" Charlie exclaimed in fury. "A teacher can't do that!"

"Unfortunately I think she can. She's from the Ministry. She can do pretty much whatever she likes."

"This isn't right. You've got to do something about this."

"No Charlie, I'll just get into more trouble. Please, can we just forget about it and go?"

Charlie was unwilling to let it go but eventually he gave in.

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Alicia, her eyes closed.

"Hang on, we're nearly there," said Charlie, pulling her along by the hand. "Ok, open your eyes."

Alicia opened her eyes cautiously and gasped. She was standing in a small cosy room. At the end of the room was a crackling fireplace which cast a warm glow around the room. There were candles dotted all around the room and in front of the fire was a large rug on which was spread out a large picnic basket, candles and flowers.

A smile spread across her face.

"I can't believe you did this," she said softly, gazing around her. She flung her arms around him and kissed him.

"Well, I couldn't very well miss seeing my girl, could I now?" Charlie grinned, pulling her over to the rug.

"Where are we?" Alicia asked curiously.

"This… is the Room of Requirement," Charlie said, with a hint of pride.

"The Room of what?"

"Requirement. I'm pretty sure very few students know about this room. I first found out about it from the elves. I was down in the kitchen one evening and Dobby was talking about it. I asked him about it and he told me everyone he knew. The elves call it the Come and Go Room."

"It's amazing," Alicia breathed, looking around her in awe. "So you just ask it for whatever you need and it creates it for you?"

"Pretty much."

"And can anyone get into it?"

"Only if they know what it's being used for," Charlie explained.

"This is perfect!" Alicia whispered to herself.

"For what?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Nothing, nothing," Alicia lied hastily. She quickly changed the subject. "So what's in here?" she said, pointing at the basket.

Charlie's expression brightened. "I called in a little favour from the elves in the kitchen. They put together a special feast for us."

Alicia smiled fondly at him and took his face gently in her hands.

"I really love you," she whispered. "You know that, don't you?"

Charlie smiled and nodded. He took her injured hand tenderly in his, turning it over in his palm. Then, bringing it to his lips, he slowly kissed the red raw scars that crisscrossed over the back of her hand.

"And you know that I love you too," he whispered back.

Then he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him, resting his head softly on top of hers and holding her protectively in his arms.

* * *

"Harry, I've got it!" Alicia exclaimed excitedly, dropping into the seat beside him the next day at breakfast.

Harry frowned. "Got what?"

Alicia jerked her head as if to say: 'Not here.' He nodded in understanding and followed her outside.

"You've found a place for us to practice?"

"Yep," she nodded. "It's called the Room of Requirement. It's on the seventh floor corridor, behind the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy."

"The Room of Requirement? How does it work?"

"Come with me and I'll show you."

"This is perfect!" Harry said ten minutes later as he walked round the Room of Requirement which had transformed itself into the perfect room for their practice.

There were wooden bookcases lining the walls and there were silk cushions scattered on the floor. Alicia wandered around the room, inspecting the books with interest.

"Look at these books," Alicia said, pulling out 'Self-Defensive Spellwork'. "These will be really helpful!"

"I can't wait to tell the others," Harry said.

Alicia grinned and nodded. But deep down, she felt a twinge of guilt. She knew she should have told Charlie about this. But somehow she knew what his reaction would be if he found out.

* * *

The weeks passed quickly from then onwards. Alicia was always busy with something but even being so busy, she missed Charlie like crazy.

It was hard not to think of him when she was supposed to be concentrating on something else. His face was always in her mind, the sound of his laugh echoed in her head as she tried to solve a particularly difficult Runes translation or finish her Potions essay, and their evening in the Room of Requirement seemed almost like a distant memory.

So she was happy when the next Hogsmeade visit finally swung around and she made plans to meet Charlie in the Three Broomsticks.

But when she arrived, he did not seem very happy to see her. His expression was grave.

"What's wrong?" Alicia asked with a frown as she slid into the bench opposite him.

"Do you have something you'd like to tell me about?" Charlie asked. His voice had an unfamiliar sharp edge to it.

Alicia looked at him in bewilderment. "What have I done?"

"Come on, Alicia, don't play dumb. We need to talk."

"Ok, let's talk," Alicia said, still utterly confused.

"Not here," he growled.

"Ok, where then?"

"Let's go for a walk," he said, taking her arm.

"Right, now would you please explain to me what on earth is going on?" Alicia said as they strolled through the wet cobbled streets of Hogsmeade a few minutes later. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about this little…" He lowered his voice. "_Dumbledore's Army_ thing you've got going on." Alicia raised her eyebrows. "Don't look so surprised," Charlie said.

He glanced around him furtively as though searching for eavesdroppers. No one was paying them any attention however; Hogsmeade was relatively deserted. Only the occasional person scurried past, eager to get out of the light drizzle that was now falling. "I'm part of the Order; it's our job to know what's going on."

"Well, I'm not going to deny it, since you clearly know _everything that's going on_," Alicia said, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "But I honestly don't know what your problem is."

"My problem is that it's a crazy idea. Umbridge is from the Ministry. And this club of yours is illegal. You're risking a lot for just a club."

"It's not just a club, Charlie!" Alicia exclaimed, coming to a halt and rounding on him. "Don't you get it? She won't teach us practical magic! We have to do something!"

"Yes, but this is dangerous, Alicia," Charlie argued. "You don't want to get on her bad side."

"Too late. I already am," Alicia retorted, holding up her hand so he could see the white scars. His expression softened slightly and he took her hand in his gently.

"I understand how you feel, love," he said sympathetically. "You're angry at her. I get it. I would be too after what she did to you. But you could get expelled. We both know how easy it is for you to get into trouble."

"I'm not angry," she protested. Charlie gave her a look. "Alright, so I'm a bit angry, but it's not about that. You-Know-Who is back, Charlie! We need to be prepared! I thought that's what you'd want! For me to be able to protect myself!"

"It is but-" Charlie was clearly torn.

"Look, if it were you, you'd do it, wouldn't you?" said Alicia her voice softer.

"I suppose you're right," Charlie said finally, looking unhappy. "Just be careful, alright? Don't get caught."

"I won't," Alicia said, squeezing his hand tightly.

"And next time, just tell me," Charlie said.

"I didn't tell you because I knew exactly how you'd react!"

Charlie sighed. "I know, but I just wanted to make sure you knew what you're getting yourself into. I worry about you."

"And you don't think I don't worry about you?" Alicia said, the old anxiety coming back into her eyes. "Every day there's a possibility of you getting hurt…or worse. And it's so awful not knowing. Being so far away from everything that's happening."

Charlie smiled sadly. "I know. All I can promise is that I'll do my best to stay safe. Because I have something worth staying safe for."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you so much, Alicia Spinnet," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She smiled weakly. "I know you do."

* * *

"Alicia? Were you at Hogsmeade with Katie yesterday?" Angelina asked her the next day as they sat in their dormitory after a particularly cold Quidditch practice.

"No," Alicia replied, not looking up from her book. "Why d'you ask?"

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing, but she's been acting strangely recently," Angelina said thoughtfully.

"Oh yes?" Alicia asked with interest. "Strange how?"

"Well, she keeps making up some excuse for why she can't go to Hogsmeade. She hasn't been to a visit in months. Every time I ask, she says she has homework to do, or a detention, would you believe it? A detention!"

"That doesn't sound like our Katie," Alicia agreed. "But why won't she come to Hogsmeade?"

"Well, that's the strange thing, because yesterday when she told me she definitely couldn't come to Hogsmeade because she had a meeting with Professor McGonagall, I'm almost definite that I saw her in Scrivenshaft's yesterday afternoon."

"That _is_ strange," Alicia nodded.

"And that's not all," Angelina said. "I'm sure I saw someone with her."

"Who?"

"I couldn't see their face, but I'm sure it was a man."

"A man?" Alicia echoed in surprise.

"Yes, he was very tall and broad; he had brown hair and was wearing a navy and gold jumper."

Alicia frowned. "Have you asked her about it?"

"Well, that's the thing. I confronted her about it today at practice but she denied it. She claimed she was at the castle all afternoon, getting help from McGonagall in her Transfiguration homework."

"That doesn't add up. Katie's never needed help with Transfiguration in her life."

"It's really weird. And I'm going to find out what she's up to."


	38. Trouble

**A/N. **Very sorry I couldn't reply to any of your lovely reviews! FF wouldn't let me for some reason. Anyway, thanks a lot everyone! And here's the next chapter…

* * *

**Chapter 38: Trouble**

* * *

The next few months passed in a blur of work, Quidditch, Hogsmeade visits, DA meetings…and terrible anxiety. Every day Alicia waited anxiously for news of Charlie and the Order.

And one day, as Christmas drew near, those close to the Order had a terrible shock.

It was a cold night, and a bitter wind battered the castle walls. Alicia was curled up in her four-poster bed, her covers wrapped tightly round her, wearing as many layers as she could find. A fire crackled in the hearth in the corner of the dormitory, but there was still a chilly draft.

The rest of her dorm mates were asleep; Angelina was snoring quietly in the bed opposite hers, Bella had fallen asleep with a book in her hands, Hannah and Beth were both curled up tightly in their beds, and their tell-tale slow breathing told Alicia that they were fast asleep. But she couldn't sleep.

She had been staring at the same spot on the wall for half an hour, turning things over in her mind. She thought back to that conversation she'd had with Charlie in Hogsmeade a few months ago about the DA, and since then she had realised how stupid it had been. Why should he be worried about her getting into trouble? He was in far more danger being a part of the Order; every day that he fought for them, his life was in danger. And it scared her.

She didn't talk to anyone about it, though she knew Angelina and Katie were worried about her. She kept walking in on them whispering and they would stop as soon as she entered the room. She knew she must have been acting strangely, for she barely slept and she looked paler every day, became more and more withdrawn and sought solitude. She knew it wouldn't solve her problems but the fear was always there, gnawing away at her stomach.

She wondered what Charlie was doing at that precise moment; she hoped he was somewhere warm and safe. At that moment, there was a sudden scream; a long drawn out sound of utter terror. Alicia jolted upright in shock.

The sound had woken her friends.

"What was that?" Angelina asked, rubbing her eyes blearily. Alicia didn't answer. She was listening hard, with wide eyes.

There was another scream, fainter this time but it was definitely coming from the boys' dormitories. Alicia leapt out of bed and pulled on the nearest pair of shoes.

"Alicia!" hissed Bella. "Where are you going?"

There was some protest from her other dorm mates, but Alicia ignored them and hurried down the steps into the Common Room. A second later, two boys came skidding down the stairs.

"I'm telling you; it wasn't just a dream!" one of them shouted, his voice full of fear and urgency.

"Harry, maybe you should just stop and think about this for a secon-"

"No Ron!" Harry interrupted. "We haven't got time for that! Your dad's in danger!"

Ron's eyes widened as he finally comprehended the severity of the situation. It was at that moment that Harry caught sight of Alicia, watching quietly in the darkness.

"What's going on, Harry?" Alicia asked slowly, her eyes wide with fear.

Harry sighed. "Nothing's going on, Alicia. Go back to bed. Everything's fine."

"No, it's not," Alicia said. "You just said that Mr Weasley is in danger. It's not fine. What's going on? Tell me!" she demanded, that knot of worry in her stomach tightening.

"Please, Alicia, just go back to bed," Harry begged. "I haven't got time…there's no time, I need to find Dumbledore…"

"I'm coming with you," Alicia said. "You can tell me on the way."

Harry looked as if he was going to protest but Ron interrupted.

"Harry, you said this was urgent," Ron said, giving Harry a significant look. Harry nodded grimly.

* * *

"Now will you tell me what's going on?" Alicia asked, as they hurried along the cold corridors.

"Harry had a dream-"

"It wasn't a dream!" interrupted Harry furiously.

"Alright, alright," Ron said hastily. "Harry had a…vision that my dad was attacked."

"Attacked?" Alicia repeated breathlessly.

"By some sort of snake," Ron continued.

"But how can you possibly have seen that, Harry?" Alicia asked, frowning in confusion. "Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"

"No, you don't understand, Alicia!" Harry exclaimed in frustration. "This wasn't just an ordinary dream! I've had visions like this before – there's a connection, with my scar. I sometimes see what Voldemort is thinking."

Alicia's eyes widened with fear and her eyes flickered to his scar. Harry did not miss this.

"Don't be afraid of me, Al," Harry said softly.

Alicia shook her head violently. "I'm not, of course I'm not. Come on, we need to find Dumbledore."

* * *

Several hours later, Alicia was sat in the cold living room of Grimmauld Place. The rest of the Weasleys and Harry were seated around her; Ginny curled up in an armchair, eyes closed, the twins sitting stock still on one of the old sagging sofas, Ron sitting by the fireplace, staring into the grate absently. Sirius was sitting at the table, drumming his fingers on the wood, his eyes flickering from one person to another. Alicia could sense his desperation and frustration at being shut up for so long, prevented from helping the rest of the Order. She felt sorry for him but there was nothing either of them could do about it.

The clock ticked monotonously on the wall. No one dared to speak.

Suddenly there was a burst of fire in mid-air and a scroll of parchment fell on to the floor by Fred's feet accompanied by a golden phoenix feather.

"It's Fawkes," Harry said urgently and Fred tore open the letter.

"It's from Mum," Fred said, his eyes quickly scanning the letter. "It says: Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

Alicia got up abruptly and went over to the cabinet in the corner, pulling out a bottle of Firewhisky and some glasses. She handed them round and everyone drank, eagerly, as though the very slight relief had given them thirst again, though more likely it was to give themselves something to do.

The night dragged on slowly. Alicia didn't think she'd ever sat through a longer night than this one. Finally, as the candles began to get smaller and smaller, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Alicia was awoken by the sound of the living room door opening, and she looked up to see Mrs Weasley striding in, looking extremely pale.

They all looked up desperately as she entered, and she gave a faint smile.

"He's going to be all right," she said, her voice weak, saying the words everyone had prayed all night to hear. "We can all go and see him later. Bill's with him now; no news of Charlie yet."

Alicia looked up at Mrs Weasley searchingly. She gave her as reassuring a smile as she could.

"I'm sure he's alright, dear, don't worry," Mrs Weasley said. "He's out on Order business – he's due back this morning."

Alicia nodded mutely and Mrs Weasley enveloped her in a hug.

"Breakfast time, I think," said Sirius cheerfully.

* * *

They all went to visit Mr Weasley in St. Mungo's later that day. Alicia, after briefly seeing him, left the others alone, leaving them with their father, taking Harry with her in search of coffee.

"Merlin, I'm in here far too often," Alicia said, with a wry grin, shaking her head and looking around her. "How are you doing, Harry?" she asked, as they walked. "Are you alright?"

Harry nodded, but didn't say anything. Alicia could tell he didn't want to talk about it, but she knew that sooner or later he was going to have to, and she intended to be the one to hear it.

Down in lobby, clutching steaming mugs of coffee, Alicia tried to open the subject again.

"So you say it was some kind of dream?" Alicia said casually, sipping her coffee.

Harry's face was pale, wan, and he hadn't touched his coffee. "It wasn't really a dream," he said, more patient than he had been last night. "More of a…a sort of vision. I…I don't understand it, I don't understand why I saw what I saw."

"So it's some kind of connection…with your scar," Alicia continued. Then she gasped slightly. "Unless You-Know-Who is posse-"

"Alicia, I'd really rather not talk about it," Harry interrupted, looking worse than ever.

Alicia nodded and pushed the steaming mug into his hands. "Drink, Harry. You need it."

At that moment, there came a cheerful voice from above them. "You lot alright?"

They both looked up to see Tonks grinning down at them.

"Fine thanks," Alicia replied with a smile, glancing sideways at Harry who was looking gloomy and had resumed staring listlessly into his mug. "Any news from the Order?" Alicia asked, lowering her voice.

"That's what I came to tell you," Tonks said. "Thought I'd let you know that the rest of our lot have just got back this morning. I tell you, there was a mighty big shock when we told them what had happened to Arthur. Praise Merlin he's alive. Charlie's upstairs, if you want to see him. He was looking for you, but I told him to go see his father and I'd find you."

Alicia nodded in thanks and got up. "You coming, Harry?"

"Sure," he said, getting up too. "Let's go see lover-boy," he said, with a small smirk.

Alicia grinned, pleased at the sudden change in Harry's mood.

* * *

Christmas passed quickly. Alicia returned to her parents' for Christmas and stayed at Grimmauld Place for New Year.

They were soon back at school. Alicia had spent most of the Christmas holidays badgering Charlie about her uncle, but every time she asked, he told her that there was no news.

"Ginny's birthday was a close call. It's too dangerous for him here. He's left the country. We haven't been able to contact him," he would always say.

Alicia was frustrated but she knew there was nothing the Order could do about it. She would just have to be patient. But she desperately wanted to talk to her uncle and find out about him.

Meanwhile, she threw all her efforts into school – her work and the DA meetings. They had started working on Patronuses. Everybody was very keen to begin practising this particular charm, though Harry constantly reminded them that practising it in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they were not under threat was very different from producing it when confronted by a Dementor.

"Oh don't be such a killjoy!" said Cho Chang brightly, and Alicia had half a mind to agree with her as she watched her goat Patronus gambol around her.

"Aren't they lovely?" Alicia said, smiling happily.

"They're not supposed to be lovely," Harry reminded her, but she just rolled her eyes at him.

Suddenly the door of the Room of Requirement opened and closed. Harry glanced round to see who had entered but there was no one in sight. Everyone had fallen silent.

"Harry," Alicia said quietly and pointed downwards. Her Patronus had dissolved. Harry looked downwards to see Dobby tugging urgently on his robes.

"Harry Potter, sir," Dobby squeaked, clearly very afraid and frantic. "Dobby has come to warn you…but the house-elves have been warned not to tel…she…she…"

"What?" Harry said urgently. "Who's "she"?"

Dobby, who had gone slightly cross-eyed with fear, seemed to be struggling greatly with himself.

"Umbridge?" Harry asked in horror. The little elf nodded slowly, looking stricken, before promptly trying to knock his head hard against Harry's knees. "What about her? She hasn't found out about this – about the DA?"

Poor Dobby was looking more terrified than ever, and he kept trying to kick himself and slam his head against the door in punishment.

"Is she coming?" Harry asked slowly, bending down to Dobby's level. There was a pause.

Then Dobby let out a howl and threw himself to the floor. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

Harry straightened up. "What are you waiting for?" he bawled. "RUN!"

There was immediate chaos. Everyone pelted towards the door in a huge scrum. Alicia got caught up in the crowd, jostled this way and that.

Her mind whirled. She couldn't make it back to the Gryffindor Common Room, not in time. Without pausing to think, she sprinted off down the corridor, charging towards the steps in front of her and flinging herself through the door of the Owlery.

To her relief, it appeared to be empty. She flung herself down in a corner, panting breathlessly, waiting for her heart to stop pounding painfully. She hoped that everyone had got away safely, and suddenly her mind flickered to Harry. What if he'd been caught?

She waited for half an hour or so, before hurrying back to her dormitory where she flung herself into bed, her heart still pounding.

"Exciting night out?" Angelina said, raising an eyebrow, from where she was sitting on her bed, scribbling down Quidditch plays.

"It's the DA," Alicia explained hastily. "We've been discovered. By Umbridge."

Angelina's smirk faded. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Someone blabbed," Alicia said, pulling on her pyjamas. "I just hope Harry got away ok; the kid doesn't need any more trouble."

Angelina nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm glad I didn't go tonight," she said, turning back to her notes. "I tell you, if any of my Quidditch team got caught, I'll skin them alive."

Alicia's eyes widened. She didn't like to think what would have happened if she'd been caught. Angelina would have been furious. Not to mention Charlie. Especially after his warning.

* * *

As the weather got warmer and April turned to May, Alicia got a big shock.

She and Angelina were coming back up to the castle after visiting Hagrid one afternoon when they heard a great bang. They hurried into the Entrance Hall to find, to their great surprise, an enormous crowd of students gathered there.

And in the middle of them all stood Fred and George.

"Oh no, what have they done now?" Alicia muttered, shaking her head in despair.

"So!" shouted Umbridge triumphantly, standing in front of them looking extremely pleased. "So – you think it's amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

Alicia gasped. "They didn't."

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, catching Alicia's eye and winking at her. She looked back at him, shaking her head disapprovingly, but unable to keep the smile from her face.

"You two," continued Umbridge, as Filch hovered about her elbow gleefully clutching a piece of parchment. "are about to learn what happens to wrong-doers in my school."

"You know what?" Fred said without a sign of fear. "I don't think we are. George," he said, turning to his twin. "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

George nodded, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

Before anyone could so much as say a word, they both raised their wands and shouted; "Accio brooms!"

There was a loud crash from somewhere in the distance and then two brooms came soaring through the air, still trailing the chain and metal peg. The twins mounted their brooms.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred said.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," grinned George. "Anyone who fancies buying a Portable Swamp, come to number 93 Diagon Alley- our new premises!"

And with that, they kicked up from the ground and shot into the air.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves!"

The poltergeist swept off his belled hat and saluted them, as they soared out of the doors into the sunset to great applause.

Alicia shook her head with amusement as Angelina burst out laughing.

"Their mother is going to _kill_ them!"

* * *

The exams began a month later and the school became quiet and subdued. Everyone was studying hard, particularly the fifth and seventh year students.

Alicia did her best to put everything out of her mind and focus hard on her studying but it was difficult when she kept worrying about Charlie. Although the Order refused them news, she knew something big was going on and tensions seemed to be running high whenever she saw any member of the Order.

Even when her exams were over, it was hardly a relief because she was now dreading the results.

"Relax Alicia, it'll be just fine. It's a good thing that the results aren't for a long time," Katie tried to reassure her as they headed out of the hall after Alicia's last exam.

"A good thing!" Alicia repeated shrilly. "How is it a good thing that I have to wait until July to get the results? It's going to be torture!"

Katie shook her head in resignation. "Come on, let's find the others."

* * *

"Alicia!" came Angelina's panicked voice as she entered the Common Room.

"What's wrong, Ange?" Alicia asked, at once.

"It's Harry and the others. They've gone!"

"Gone where?" she frowned.

"I don't know. I ran into Ginny in the corridor and she said something about the Ministry and You-Know-Who and…" she lowered her voice hastily and glanced around them. "Sirius. I went to find you but I couldn't. I was just about to go back and try and find Ginny when I saw them out of the castle window. They were heading down to the Forbidden Forest. I watched them and they took off on some sort of invisible creature…it was weird…I'm guessing it was a Thestral and they disappeared."

Angelina's face was worried.

"Who was it?" Alicia asked, her heart rate beginning to speed up as fear kicked in.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville," Angelina replied, biting her lip in anxiety.

"Oh of all the stupid plans, I-" Alicia muttered angrily, kicking the chair in frustration. "How could they do this? How could they just go off to the Ministry like this? Stupid!"

"What should we do?" Angelina asked.

"The Order. We need to send word to the Order. Before it's too late," Alicia replied, thinking hard.

"But how? The Ministry is watching all the fires!"

Alicia thought for a moment. Then she snapped her fingers. "Umbridge's office! We can use the fire there!"

"But won't she be in there?"

"We'll just have to try and distract her somehow. Come on," Alicia said, hurrying towards the portrait hole.

* * *

"She's not there," whispered Alicia, as she peered through the keyhole of Umbridge's door. "That's strangely lucky," she said, frowning slightly.

She pushed open the door and caught sight of a number of bodies lying on the ground.

"It's Malfoy and his cronies. Put a Body-bind curse on them," Alicia called to Angelina who nodded.

Alicia hurried over to the fire. Grabbing a handful of Floo Powder, she threw it into the fire and stuck her head into it, shouting; "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!"

Her head began to spin violently and she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the ash. Suddenly the spinning stopped and she was looking into a deserted kitchen.

"Hello?" she shouted. "Anybody there?"

She heard a slight bang in the distance and prayed it wasn't on her end. And suddenly the door of the kitchen opened and Charlie entered. He saw her at once.

"Alicia? What are you doing? What's going on?"

"Where's Sirius?" Alicia said at once.

Charlie frowned. "Sirius? He's upstairs, feeding Buckbeak. Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Harry," Alicia said, fear starting to claw at her heart. "And some of the others. They think that Sirius has been taken to the Ministry by You-Know-Who. They've gone to the Ministry!"

"What?" Charlie's eyes widened in shock. "I'll call the Order. You'd better Floo in here and wait here."

Alicia nodded. "I'll get Angelina."

Charlie hurried from the room, his eyes wide with panic. Alicia quickly pulled her head from the fire and turned to Angelina.

"Ok, I've told Charlie; he's gone to get the rest of the Order. He told us to Floo to Grimmauld Place. Come on."

Angelina nodded and hurried over. They each in turn stepped into the flames and stepped out into the cold kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Lupin came running into the living room where the three of them waited anxiously.

"Good, you're here. I think you two had better stay here with Alicia's parents."

"What?" exclaimed Alicia. "No, we're coming!"

"You are definitely _not _coming," said Charlie firmly, coming into the room.

"What?" Alicia said, turning on him. "Why not?"

"You're not part of the Order. You can't come."

Alicia looked beseechingly at Lupin who looked from Alicia to Charlie and back to Alicia again.

"I'm sorry, Alicia," Lupin said at last. "You're not in the Order. You need to stay here with your parents."

Alicia sighed unhappily. "Alright, I'll stay. Where are the rest of the Order?"

"They're on their way to the Ministry already. We're just about to join them," Charlie said.

"I don't want you to go," Alicia said, her eyes fearful.

"Come here," said Charlie, pulling her out of the room into the hallway. "You know I have to go."

Alicia nodded, her head bowed. He reached out and tilted her chin up to look into his eyes. He could see the tears glinting in her eyes.

"Don't be scared. I'll be fine. I'm doing this to protect Harry and the others."

"I know," Alicia said in a small voice as the tears began to roll down her cheeks. "It doesn't make me ok with it though."

"I know," Charlie said gently. "I'll come back. I promise you."

"I love you Charlie," Alicia said, through her tears.

"I love you too," he replied, kissing her. "More than you can possibly imagine."

* * *

Harry was standing silently on the edge of the dais beside the archway which had featured in his vision, watching the Death Eaters torture Neville.

"Potter, give us the prophecy or watch your little friend die the hard way!"

"Don'd gib id do dem, Harry!" screamed Neville, clutching his broken nose which was streaming with blood.

But there was no choice. He had to. He held out the prophecy slowly. Lucius Malfoy jumped forwards to take it from him.

At that moment, the doors burst open and four people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.

Moments later, in tore Lupin and Charlie, wands held aloft, faces set grimly. Spells rained down around them as they fought.

The Death Eaters outnumbered them greatly but the Order fought bravely.

"Stupefy!" yelled Charlie, sending a jet of red light shooting towards the hooded Death Eater he was locked in battle with. The Death Eater jumped aside just in time and the spell hit the wall behind him, sending a chunk of stone flying.

"Confringo!"

The blast of flames narrowly missed the Death Eater again and the hooded figure laughed maliciously.

"Is that the best you've got?" he shouted.

"Diffindo!"

A large gash appeared in the Death Eater's chest, slicing through his cloak to the skin. The Death Eater hissed in pain and shot another hex back at Charlie which he only just avoided.

"Expelliarmus!" Charlie yelled, his wand sending out a yet of scarlet light which hit the Death Eater squarely in the chest, knocking him off his feet.

As it did so, the Death Eater's hood fell off, revealing his face.

"You!" Kingsley shouted suddenly from behind Charlie. He was pointing at the Death Eater. "You traitor!"

The Death Eater on the floor gave a nasty laugh. "Took you long enough to find out, didn't it?"

"What? What is it?" Charlie asked, looking from one to the other.

"That," Kingsley said gravely. "is Alicia's uncle."


	39. Traitor

**A/N. **Ok so there's still a problem with FF which won't let me reply to reviews which is really annoying! Whatever it is, I hope they fix it soon. But thank you all again : D Here' s the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 39: Traitor**

* * *

"What?" exclaimed Charlie, but Kingsley had turned away to block a spell from Yaxley and was now locked in battle with him.

The Death Eater had got to his feet. "Yes, I'm Alicia's uncle," the Death Eater said, nodding.

"But how? And why? I thought you were on our side!" Charlie said in confusion.

The Death Eater laughed. "How naïve you are! People change sides, little boy," he said patronisingly.

"But when? How long have you been on his side?"

"Oh, a long time," he replied, grinning nastily. "It's been so easy to fool you stupid people. You're so eager to take in anyone who might be on your side. You were so quick to believe my story about me breaking into one of the Dark Lord's meetings."

"But what about Alicia's parents? That was you?" His eyes were wide with shock.

Alicia's uncle inclined his head slightly. "Admittedly, I didn't particularly like that part of the plan. They are, after all, my family, but it had to be done. You had to believe they'd been attacked."

"So you harmed your own family?"

"As I've already said, it had to be done," hissed the Death Eater irritably, sending a spell flying at Charlie. He jumped out the way hastily.

"But what about the party? The birthday party? You were supposed to have information to give us."

Alicia's uncle laughed. "Again, it was too easy. That was all a set up. The real plan was to capture Harry Potter, while you were all running around like idiots."

"But Harry wasn't there," Charlie said.

"I know that now," said Alicia's uncle, looking annoyed. "But I didn't know that at the time. I assumed, foolishly it seems, that he would be there."

"So you betrayed your own family, your own blood?" Charlie spat, staring at the man in front of him with loathing.

"You wouldn't understand!" yelled Alicia's uncle, sending another jet of red light shooting towards Charlie. "You're too young!"

"No, I think I understand perfectly!" Charlie replied, the anger clear on his face. "You're a coward! You'd rather save your own skin than protect others!"

Alicia's uncle didn't reply.

"You foul little traitor!" shouted Charlie, raising his wand. "Diffindo!" he yelled. "Stupefy!"

Alicia's uncle dodged the spells, but instead of sending some back, he turned on his heel and sprinted away.

"Come back, you filthy coward!" yelled Charlie, his anger overflowing. But he was gone.

* * *

"I can't do this," Alicia said, wringing her hands. "I can't. I just can't. I can't sit here, waiting, not knowing what's happening."

"Sit down, dear; everything's going to be alright. Stop worrying. It's not going to do any good," her mother tried to soothe her.

"Stop worrying? How exactly am I supposed to stop worrying when there's people out there risking their lives and not only am I not allowed to be there to help but I also don't know what's going on!"

Angelina got up and put her arms around Alicia's shaking body reassuringly. "You need to relax. There's nothing we can do but wait."

Suddenly a glowing light appeared in the room. It was a Patronus, a silver lynx.

"_It's over. But we lost one." _

The sound of Kingsley's deep voice echoed through the room. They sat in complete shock for a moment, no one able to speak.

"We lost one?" echoed Alicia. "Who? Who is it?" she said desperately.

But the Patronus did not answer her, it simply dissolved into nothingness. Alicia began to shake and Angelina was too stunned to move.

"I think you two should go back to Hogwarts," Mr Spinnet said gently. Alicia nodded and got to her feet unsteadily.

She took Angelina's hand.

"We'll come in a few hours," Mrs Spinnet said. "We should be here when the rest of the Order get back."

Alicia nodded dumbly. Her senses seemed to be deadened. She half-walked half-ran into the kitchen and, taking a handful of Floo Powder, stepped into the flames.

The second her feet touched the ground, she sprinted towards the door of Umbridge's empty office, yanking it open and tearing down the staircase towards the Hospital Wing.

She burst through the doors, Angelina following close behind.

"What's happened?" she shouted.

"Who is it?" Angelina shouted.

"Miss Spinnet! Miss Johnson! Please!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed from the end of the Wing.

Alicia's eyes frantically searched through the crowd. Everyone seemed to be there. She could see Harry and Ron and Ginny and the rest of them lying on the beds at the far end, some of the adults gathered around them.

To her enormous relief, Alicia caught sight of Charlie amongst them. Holding back sobs of relief, she flung herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly, burying his face in her hair.

"You came back," she whispered, silent tears flooding her cheeks. Charlie took her face in his hands roughly, brushing away the tears from her cheeks.

"I always keep my promises," he replied, his voice full of emotion.

"Who is it?" Alicia asked quietly after a moment, looking up at Charlie. His face was full of anguish and his eyes were red-rimmed with grief.

"Sirius," he whispered, his voice barely sounding. Alicia closed her eyes and held back the tears that were pricking her eyes. She couldn't cry. Not here. Not in front of Harry. She could hardly bear to look at him, for fear of seeing the terrible grief and anger she knew would be in his eyes.

She knew he'd blame himself. And she knew there'd be no way to console him. So she held back her own tears for the man she'd come to love and cherish, and simply held Charlie in her arms, grateful that he at least had not yet been taken away from her.

* * *

**A/N. **Nearly there! Only the epilogue to go now (which will be up very soon). Thank you so much for reading this story : )


	40. Epilogue: Leaving

**Epilogue: Leaving**

* * *

"This is it," Alicia said solemnly.

"Yes, this is it."

She and Angelina stood together on the platform at King's Cross, clutching their trunks and broomsticks and staring at the Hogwarts Express for the last time.

"I just can't believe we're not going to be on it next year," Alicia whispered, feeling a tear of sadness begin to roll down her cheek. "And I'm going to miss the old castle so much."

"Me too," Angelina said.

The two girls embraced each other and began to sob.

"Cheer up you two," said a cheerful voice from behind them.

"Shut up Katie," said Alicia mournfully. "You get to come back next year."

"Yes, but it won't be the same without you two drama queens!"

Angelina laughed, brushing away her tears. "Don't you worry, Kat! The year will fly by. And we'll make sure we have your room in our apartment fully ready when you finish."

Katie grinned with excitement and Alicia hugged her. "I can't believe you're going to be working in St. Mungo's," Katie said, shaking her head in almost disbelief. "And you," she said, looking at Angelina. "working in the Ministry. It seems like just yesterday that I met you two as young third year troublemakers!"

"Hey!" Alicia protested. "I don't make trouble! Trouble finds me!"

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Sure," she said sarcastically.

Angelina changed the subject before Alicia could launch into a protest. "It's definitely going to be a change from Hogwarts, that's for sure!"

"Yes," agreed Alicia. "No poltergeists, no trick steps, no changing staircases. Is it strange that I think I'll miss them? Merlin, I think I'll even miss _Filch_!"

The three of them laughed. Suddenly there was shout from across the platform. They looked up to see Fred and George charging towards them at full speed, identical looks of glee on their faces.

"There you are!" Fred cried, flinging his arms around them. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"

"What are you two doing here?" Katie asked, unable to suppress a smile.

"What _do_ you mean, Kates? Why, we're here to celebrate leaving Hogwarts!" George said, looking affronted.

"You left Hogwarts a month ago, you idiot," Alicia pointed out.

"So? Doesn't mean we can't come here to reminisce and weep like you two," Fred said cheerfully. "Unless of course, you're referring to the fact that we are now worldwide famous entrepreneurs and wouldn't stoop to such levels?"

Alicia snorted. "Entrepreneurs? Is that what you're calling yourselves? I'd go for-"

"Hey!" interrupted Angelina. "Is that Oliver? What's he doing here? Don't tell me you've brought him to reminisce too!"

Fred frowned. "We didn't bring him. I don't know what he's doing here. He can't be coming to see you two," he said, jerking a thumb at Alicia and Angelina. "You're seeing him tomorrow at the Burrow."

Alicia glanced over at where they were looking and sure enough, there was Oliver striding through the crowds. With his height and broad frame, he pushed through the heaving crowds with ease.

At that moment something struck a chord in Alicia's mind. "Hang on a second!"

"What?" asked Angelina, turning to her.

"Tall, broad, brown hair, navy blue and gold," Alicia said slowly. Realisation dawned on Angelina's face.

They both turned simultaneously to Katie who had turned a delicate shade of magenta.

"Oliver?" they both half-shouted.

"Yes?" he said, with a grin, coming over.

"Oliver is the mystery man? Of course, navy blue and gold- the Puddlemere strip!" Alicia exclaimed. She looked wildly from one to the other. "You and Katie?"

He immediately looked guilty.

"Wait, _what_?" Fred said, looking thunderous. "_You? _And our little sweet Katie? Together?"

"When did this happen?" George said indignantly. "And why weren't we told?"

Katie and Oliver stood next each other, looking very sheepish.

"We…er…well, we wanted to keep it a secret. Just between us," Katie stuttered, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, not anymore," said Alicia, grinning. "This is so great, you guys!"

"I call maid of honour!" Angelina said at once, her face lighting up.

"Woah! Slow down there, Ange!" Katie said, looking alarmed. "I'm seventeen!"

She looked up at Oliver almost apologetically but he was just smiling down at her affectionately.

"Mum! Dad!" Angelina suddenly shouted excitedly, catching sight of her parents in the distance. She sprinted across the platform.

Alicia smiled fondly after her.

"So, where are you off to this summer, Ali?" asked Oliver, putting an arm around her shoulder companionably as they headed off towards where Angelina's parents were waiting to take them home.

"Yes, where are you going? You never told me," Katie said.

"Nor us," Fred said indignantly.

"Wherever it is, I note that we haven't been invited," George said resentfully. "Why so secretive? Where are you going?"

The four of them looked accusingly at Alicia, who reddened slightly.

"Romania."

* * *

**A/N. **This is it! The end of this story. Wow. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews and wonderful enthusiasm you've all given this story. It's really made writing it all the more worthwhile.

I'm working on the sequel at the moment so keep an eye out!

Thank you :) Love you all,

CN2 xxxx


End file.
